Investigation of the Effects of MicroRNA-221 Expression Levels in Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumors

BACKGROUND/AIM: The aim of our study was to examine miRNA-221 as a candidate biomarker to define prognosis and/or classification for glial tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 39 patients who underwent glial tumor surgery and 40 healthy individuals as the control group. miRNA expression levels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used for analyzing the predictive ability of miRNA-221. RESULTS: The levels of miRNA-221 expression were determined by comparing the ΔCT values of miRNAs and the internal control. When the expression levels of miRNA-221 were compared according to the ΔCT method, miRNA-221 was found to be significantly increased in the patient group compared to the control group (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Increased expression levels of miRNA-221 could be a biomarker for glial tumors.