Differential miRNA expression in repeated recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

•There are intrinsic differences in repeated recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.•The co-regulation activity of miRNAs correlates with tumor relapse.•Analysis of miRNAs expressions improves diagnostic reliability of recurrent tumors.

Deregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) are known to be involved in the tumorigenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the role of miRNA expression in tumor recurrence is not yet understood. We found distinctive miRNA expression in repeated recurrent tumors using miRNA microarray, and verified this using quantitative real-time RT-PCR and miRNA in situ hybridization analysis. Computational analysis and immunohistochemistry further revealed that differentially expressed miRNAs may work in concert to modulate a multitude of biological pathways. The results not only indicate differential miRNA expression during tumor relapse, but imply the potential use of miRNAs to classify repeated recurrence of NPC beyond the histological approach.