Low expression of miR-125a-5p is associated with poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer

microRNAs (miRs) serve critical roles in tumor progression. Low expression of miR-125a in gastric carcinoma (GC) may promote tumor development. In the present study, low expression of miR-125a was confirmed in cancer tissues using The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Additionally, the expression and clinical significance of miR-125a-5p was investigated using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR in 150 cases of GC. The results of the present study demonstrated that the level of miR-125a-5p expression was decreased in GC biopsies compared with that in matched adjacent normal tissues. Low expression of miR-125a-5p was associated with increased tumor diameter, high Ki67 expression and poor overall survival of patients with GC. Multivariate survival analysis demonstrated that low miR-125a-5p expression may be used as an independent prognostic factor for patients with GC. However, no effects on the cell viability in a Cell Counting kit-8 assay, and cell migration and invasion in Transwell assays were detected in response to treatment using miR-125a-5p mimics or inhibitors in vitro. Therefore, the results of the present study provide evidence that low expression of miR-125a-5p may be associated with a poor prognosis, suggesting its value as a tumor biomarker for patients with GC.