Elevated Expression of miR-629 Predicts a Poor Prognosis and Promotes Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion of Osteosarcoma

PURPOSE: Osteosarcoma (OS) is an invasive bone tumor that primarily affects children and adolescents. MicroRNA-629 (miR-629) acts as an oncogene involved in the development of various cancers. This study aims to reveal the clinical significance and biological function of miR-629 in OS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The levels of miR-629 expression in tissues and cells were detected through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Chi-square test was used to evaluate the relationship between miR-621 expression and clinical parameters in patients with OS. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan–Meier method. Cox regression analysis of the effect of miR-629 expression on the prognosis of OS patients. CCK-8 and Transwell experiments were used to demonstrate the effect of miR-629 on OS cell function. RESULTS: Compared with the controls, miR-629 levels were significantly elevated in patients with OS (P < 0.001), Furthermore, miR-629 upregulation showed significantly associated with clinical stage (P = 0.011), distant metastasis (P = 0.003) and poor survival (log rank test, P = 0.013) in OS patients. miR-629 might be a potential prognostic biomarker for OS (HR = 2.890, 95% CI = 1.126–7.416, P = 0.027). Cell function experiments proved that the high expression of miR-629 promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of OS. CONCLUSION: All experimental results demonstrated that miR-629 as an oncogene promotes the tumor cell growth, migration and invasion of OS, and miR-629 may act as a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for patients with this malignant tumor.