Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma represents one of the most common and fatal malignancies worldwide, with early diagnosis being critical for enhancing patient survival rates. Traditional tumor biomarkers have limitations, as serum biomarker levels remain normal in certain patients, thus constraining diagnostic accuracy. Previous researches have elucidated that tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) exert a critical function as regulators in the pathogenesis of malignant tumors. Nevertheless, the clinical relevance of circulating tsRNAs in HCC remains largely unclear. Consequently, this research aimed to examine the possible application of a newly identified tsRNA (tRF-34-P4R8YP9LON4VHM) for auxiliary diagnosis, disease surveillance, and prognostic evaluation of HCC. tRF-34-P4R8YP9LON4VHM was detected through high-throughput sequencing, and its serum concentration was quantified using qRT-PCR. Methodological evaluation demonstrated that qRT-PCR for detecting serum tRF-34-P4R8YP9LON4VHM exhibited excellent stability, reproducibility, and specificity. Serum level of this biomarker were markedly upregulated in HCC patients compared to hepatitis patients and the healthy, and it decreased significantly following surgical resection. Moreover, elevated serum level was strongly associated with advanced TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and tumor differentiation. Our data suggest that serum tRF-34-P4R8YP9LON4VHM is a promising auxiliary diagnostic biomarker for HCC and may further function as a valuable indicator for disease monitoring and prognostic stratification.
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We appreciate all the patients who participated in this study and all those who contributed to it.
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This work was financially supported by the Nantong City Natural Science Foundation (JC2024013) and the Jiangsu Province Graduate Innovation Training Program (S202510304160).
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The study protocol was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University.
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Guo, Y., Huang, M., Lu, Y. et al. tRF-34-P4R8YP9LON4VHM may serve as a promising potential diagnostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-49634-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-49634-5
