A Possible Role of Long Noncoding RNA CCAT2, Microrna -17 And C- MYC As Biological Markers in Colorectal Cancer and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Egyptian Patients

Kadry, Sara Sayed Abdallah; Mohamed, Aya Safa; Shaker, Olfat Gamil; Khairy, Ahmed Mohamed; Badr, Amul M.

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2025.343547.10966

A Possible Role of Long Noncoding RNA CCAT2, Microrna -17 And C- MYC As Biological Markers in Colorectal Cancer and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Egyptian Patients

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University,

² Department of Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University

10.21608/ejchem.2025.343547.10966

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common malignancies in humans. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are part of the group of chronic inflammatory diseases known as IBD. The pathophysiology of IBD and the onset and progression of colorectal cancer are closely associated with abnormal expression of several coding and non-coding genes, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). The purpose of this study is to investigate the expression of lncRNA Colon cancer-associated transcript 2 (CCAT2), miRNA-17, and cellular myelocytomatosis gene (c-MYC) in patients with IBD and CRC to determine their potential value as noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers. This study included 120 participants, divided into four groups: UC, Crohn's disease, CRC, and healthy controls (30 each). All subjects underwent a comprehensive history, physical examination, laboratory tests, colonoscopy, and biopsy. Using real-time PCR, the levels of lncRNA CCAT2, miRNA-17, and c-MYC were assessed in serum samples. CCAT2, miRNA-17, and c-MYC expression levels were significantly higher in UC, CD, and CRC patients compared to controls. Furthermore, their expression levels showed a statistically significant difference across the IBD and CRC patient groups. In the UC group, the expression levels for CCAT2, miRNA-17, and c-MYC were upregulated compared to the control group. CCAT2 showed 98.9% sensitivity and 100% specificity, miRNA-17 showed 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity, and c-MYC showed 83.3% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity. For the CD group, the levels of CCAT2, miRNA-17, and c-MYC were likewise upregulated. CCAT2 exhibited 66.2% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity, miRNA-17 had 66.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity, while c-MYC showed 70% sensitivity and 100% specificity. In the CRC group, expression levels of CCAT2, miRNA-17, and c-MYC were all upregulated. CCAT2 showed 86.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity; miRNA-17 showed 86.7% sensitivity and 99.8% specificity; and c-MYC showed 83.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity. In conclusion, this study revealed that CCAT2, miR-17, and c-MYC may serve as noninvasive biomarkers for CRC and IBD in Egyptian patients.

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