Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Analysis May be Helpful to Study the Prognostic Value of miR-155 in B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Aberrant expression of microRNA (miR-155) has been reported previously in several hematological malignancies [1,2,3,4]. Recently, Bedewy et al. [5] published their excellent findings in this journal. They reported that miR-155 expression was significantly upregulated in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) compared with normal controls. In patients with B-cell NHL, a high level of miR-155 expression was associated with the presence of B symptoms, involvement of extranodal sites, and high Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score. In patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high miR-155 levels were related to non-germinal B-cell-like type and higher International Prognostic Index scores. High miR-155 expression was also associated with inferior event-free survival. Accordingly, the authors concluded that miRNA-155 might be a potential biomarker of prognosis and monitoring in B-cell NHL, and especially that of the DLBCL type [5].