Abstract:Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of miR-127-3p in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods Cancer and adjacent tissues of eighty patients with ESCC from February 2013 to February 2015 were enrolled in this study. The expression of miR-127-3p was detected by real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), the expression of SKI (V-Ski Sarcoma Viral Oncogene Homolog) in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry, and all cases were followed up for at least 3 years. The expression levels of miR-127-3p in ESCC cell lines Eca109 and Kyse150 and normal human esophageal epithelial cell line Het-1a were also detected. Results The relative expression of miR-127-3p in ESCC patients was lower than that in adjacent tissues (P < 0.05). The relative expression of miR-127-3p in ESCC cell lines Eca109 and Kyse150 was lower than that in normal human esophageal epithelial cell lines Het-1a, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The low expression rate of microRNA-127-3p in patients with clinical stage III was higher than that in patients with clinical stage I and II (P < 0.05); that in patients with lymph node metastasis and drinking history was higher than that in patients without lymph node metastasis and drinking history (P < 0.05); the median progression-free period of patients with low expression of microRNA-127-3p was shorter than that in patients without lymph node metastasis and drinking history (P < 0.05). Conclusions miR-127-3p participates in the development of ESCC by regulating expression of SKI protein, and its low expression may be involved in the invasion and metastasis of ESCC, and significantly affect the prognosis of patients.