ABSTRACT Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at the early stage frequently evades detection. Aberrant expression of miR‐1233 has been reported in various malignancies, yet its level and potential clinical value in HCC remain unknown. Objective This study evaluated miR‐1233 expression and potential diagnostic performance in HCC patients. Materials and Methods This prospective study enrolled 100 individuals with benign hepatic tumors and 120 cases with HCC. They all underwent dual‐source CT imaging and were confirmed pathologically. The miR‐1233 level was quantified by qRT‐PCR. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the underlying risk factors of HCC. Pearson correlation analysis was carried out to assess the association of miR‐1233 with alpha fetoprotein (AFP) or des‐gamma‐carboxy prothrombin (DCP). After statistical analysis in SPSS, ROC curves were generated for significantly different miR‐1233, dual‐CT parameters, and the combination to compare their diagnostic performance in distinguishing HCC patients. Results Serum miR‐1233 was up‐regulated in HCC patients. The expression pattern of miR‐1233 showed positive correlation to AFP and DCP indicators. In ROC curve of miR‐1233, AUC reached 0.821, with a sensitivity of 73.33% and specificity of 76.67%. Combined with the differential dual‐CT parameters, the AUC reached 0.944, with both sensitivity and specificity exceeding 90%. Conclusion Serum miR‐1233 was significantly up‐regulated in HCC patients. The diagnostic efficacy of miR‐1233 combined with dual‐source CT was superior to that of the single one in recognizing HCC individuals.
Pan et al. (2026) studied this question.