Abstract:

【Abstract】Objective To analyze the relationship between saliva miR-15b and cleaved caspase-3 expression and prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods One hundred and fifty-four patients with OSCC admitted to our hospital from May 2016 to June 2020 (OSCC group) were collected, and 103 healthy volunteers were collected as control group. The levels of miR-15b in saliva and cleaved caspase-3 expression in tissues were detected by quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR) and immunohistochemical staining, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of saliva miR-15b expression in OSCC. The relationship between miR-15b expression in saliva and clinicopathologic features of oral squamous cell carcinoma was analyzed. Multivariate Cox regression was used to analyze the prognostic factors of OSCC. Results The level of miR-15b in saliva of OSCC patients was significantly lower than that of control group (0.72±0.33 vs. 1.00±0.23, P＜0.001). The area under the ROC curve of saliva miR-15b to diagnose OSCC was 0.760 (0.703-0.817). Expression levels of caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 protein were significantly higher in OSCC than in paracancer tissue (P＜0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed that saliva miR-15b levels in OSCC patients were negatively correlated with cleaved caspase-3 protein expression (r=-0.321, P＜0.001). Salivary miR-15b expression was associated with tumor diameter and prognosis (P＜0.05). The 5-year DFS rate and 5-year OS rate in the low expression group were 28.57% and 44.16%, respectively, while the 5-year DFS rate and 5-year OS rate in the high expression group were 62.34% and 81.82%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.001). Multivariate Cox proportional regression model showed that TNM stage, radical surgery, and saliva miR-15b level were independent prognostic factors affecting OS in OSCC patients (P＜0.05). Conclusion The level of miR-15b in saliva of OSCC patients is correlated with cleaved caspase-3, which can be used as a biomarker to predict the prognosis of OSCC patients.

Key words: Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)')">

Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC), miR-15b, Cleaved caspase 3, Salivary, Prognosis