# The role of microrna-346 in prostate cancer progression: Clinical significance and biomarker potential

## TL;DR

The study finds that miR-346 levels decrease in prostate cancer patients and could help track cancer progression and hormone resistance.

## Contribution

The study identifies miR-346 as a potential biomarker for monitoring prostate cancer progression and hormone resistance.

## Key findings

- miR-346 expression is significantly lower in prostate cancer patients compared to benign prostatic hyperplasia and healthy individuals.
- Serum miR-346 levels correlate with disease progression markers like tPSA, Gleason score, and survival in castration-resistant prostate cancer.
- miR-346 increases during hormone resistance transition, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for tracking prostate cancer progression.

## Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the expression changes and clinical significance of microRNA-346 (miR-346) in PCa genesis, development, and hormone resistance transition.

Data of the middle-aged and elderly male patients who were treated in Tengzhou Central People's Hospital from January 2017 to December 2023 were collected. The tissues and corresponding preoperative serum of 128 patients with newly diagnosed PCa, 130 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), 120 patients with hormone-sensitive PCa (HSPC), 116 patients with castration-resistant PCa (CRPC), and 150 healthy males of the same age who underwent physical examination in the physical examination centre of our hospital were collected. A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the relative expression of miR-346 in the subjects' tissues and serum. GraphPad Prism statistical analysis software was utilised to analyse the expression changes of miR-346 in the occurrence and progression of PCa and its correlation with clinical and pathological features.

The expression of miR-346 was significantly lower in PCa patients than in BPH patients and healthy population (P < 0.001), while there was no difference between BPH and healthy population (P= 0.516). Tissue and serum expression were positively correlated (P< 0.001). miR-346 was negatively correlated with tPSA, PHI, clinical stage, and Gleason score in PCa tissue/serum (P< 0.001). Serum miR-346 in CRPC patients was negatively correlated with time to transformation (r= 0 .6 5 7 5 ) and survival (r= 0.5699) (P< 0.001). Serum miR-346 was positively correlated with tPSA and ALP in HSPC and CRPC patients (P< 0.001).

Serum miR-346 expression in hormone resistance transition in PCa is gradually increasing, making it a potential biomarker for monitoring PCa progression.