The Downregulation of miRNA-152 Gene Expression in Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Case-Control Study
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: microRNA (miRNA) is a short, non-coding RNA molecule that regulates gene expression by binding to messenger RNA (mRNA) to prevent it from being translated into proteins or by causing its degradation. (Removed). miRNA-152 belongs to the miR-148/152 family . It is often downregulated in various cancers, including colorectal cancer, acting as a potential tumor suppressor by targeting genes involved in cancer cell growth, migration and invasion. Objective: to study the microRNA-152 gene expression in colorectal cancer compared to colorectal diseases. Methods: The Al-Iraqia University College of Medicine has given its approval to the study. Three groups of participants were formed: The first group included thirty patients with Colorectal Cancer (CRC), the second group included thirty patients with Colorectal benign Diseases (CRD) and the third group consisted of ten healthy people (control group). Five milliliters of blood were collected from all group participants who were gathered from the Medical City Directory (Baghdad Educational Hospital and Oncology Educational Hospital) Removed. The study plan ran for three months, from November 2024 to January 2025. MicroRNA-152 can be detected by using RT-qPCR. Results: A Significant decrease in gene expression (p<0.05) of MicroRNA-152 was identified among patients with colorectal cancer compared to patients with colorectal benign diseases (61.1% Vs 38.9%, respectively). Conclusion: The expression of microRNA-152 was significantly downregulated in colorectal cancer patients compared to the Colorectal Disease (CRD) group, which needs further study to evaluate its predictive value the findings suggest the potential of miRNA-152 as a non-invasive biomarker, which may be used alone or in combination with traditional tumor markers for improved diagnostic and prognostic applications in CRC.
Institutions: Ministry of Health, Iraqi University
Language: English
Subfield: Cancer Research
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7203473979