miR-150 is a factor of survival in prostate cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common malignant disease in males and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men in developed countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether microRNA (miR)-150 is a factor influencing survival in prostate cancer patients. METHODS: miR-150 mRNA and protein expression levels in prostatic cancer cell lines and healthy tissues were determined by quantitative (q) RT-PCR and Western blotting. Additionally, the protein expression of miR-150 was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: High miR-150 expression was positively correlated with tumor recurrence or metastasis (p=0.010). In addition, PC patients with high miR-150 expression had significantly poorer overall survival/OR (hazard ratio/HR, 1.87; 95% confidence interval/CI, 1.19-2.94; p=0.006) and poorer disease-free survival/DFS (HR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.21- 2.98; p=0.005) than those with low miR-150 expression. The cumulative 5-year OS was only 35.19% (95% CI, 26.18- 44.20) in the high miR-150 expression group, whereas it was 55.93% (95% CI, 43.26-68.60) in the low miR-150 expression group (p<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that the expression of miR-150, tumor size, and number of tumor lesions were independent prognostic predictors for OS in PC patients. CONCLUSION: miR-150 was overexpressed in PC at both the mRNA and protein levels, and high expression of miR-150 could serve as a novel and reliable prognostic biomarker for PC patients.