Investigating the Pretreatment miRNA Expression Patterns of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients in Association with Response to TACE Treatment

Figure 3

Upregulation of 12 miRNAs panel is significantly associated with patients’ poor response to TACE treatment. Expression of miRNAs was determined by real-time PCR in HCC patients. Expression profiles were normalized against normal controls. log₂ fold of change of miRNA was compared in TACE treatments responders versus nonresponders. (a) Graph shows 12 miRNA that were significantly deregulated in response to treatment. (b) Heatmap of expression profile of 12 miRNAs in TACE responders () versus TACE nonresponders (). (c) Hierarchical clustering (Pearson correlation, average linkage) of the 12 altered miRNAs in responders and nonresponders groups. Heatmap colors represent relative miRNA expression as indicated in the color key. and are based on nonparametric Mann-Whitney tests comparing between miRNA expression levels in responders and nonresponders.

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