ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Low diagnostic efficiency and high metastasis and recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) result in bad survival. A novel diagnostic biomarker is of great importance for the improvement of NPC management. This study aimed to state the biological function and diagnostic values of miR-762 in NPC to provide a novel insight into the detection and therapy of NPC. METHODS: The expression of miR-762 in NPC and healthy samples was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and its diagnostic value was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The functional roles of miR-762 in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NPC cells were assessed by CCK8 and Transwell assay. RESULTS: The significant upregulation of miR-762 was observed in NPC serum compared with healthy controls, which was associated with the TNM stage and lymph node metastasis of NPC patients. The ROC curve showed that miR-762 could be a diagnostic biomarker for NPC with high accuracy and specificity. Additionally, miR-762 served as a tumor promoter, which could promote cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of NPC. CONCLUSION: The upregulation of miR-762 in NPC is associated with the disease progression and diagnosis of NPC. miR-762 might be involved in the tumor progression of NPC, which provides a potential therapeutic target for the treatment and management of NPC.