Figure 3

Relative expression levels (log₂(2^−∆CT)) of five miRNAs in the validation set of samples in every histopathology lesion grade (NEG, CIN1, CIN2 and CIN3+) (a), and in ≤ CIN1 and CIN2+ (b). Relative expression was determined by 2^−∆CT method by normalizing the Ct values, estimating the difference between the Ct value of each miRNA and the housekeeping gene (SNORD44) in each sample. The horizontal bars represent the median and the whiskers represent the highest and lowest point within 1.5 times the interquartile range. The values outside the whiskers are outliers. Cuzick trend test (p < 0.05) was used to investigate continuous changes in relative expression with increasing lesion severity, and Mann Whitney test to compare medians between high- and low cervical lesions. Descriptive statistics of the relative expression levels (log₂(2^−∆CT)) of the five miRNAs in the validation set of samples in every histopathology lesion grade (NEG, CIN1, CIN2 and CIN3+) (c), and in ≤ CIN1 and CIN2 + (d).