Abstract: Objective This study investigated the relationship between microRNA(miR)-34a expression in nasal mucosal tissue and postoperative recurrence in patients with chronic sinusitis(CRS). Methods A total of 116 patients with CRS with nasal polyps who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery were included in this study. The patients were followed up for two years after surgery and were divided into the recurrence group(n=34)and non-recurrence group(n=82). The expression levels of miR-34a in the mucosal tissue of the inferior nasal concha were detected using quantitative PCR. The relationship between miR-34a and postoperative recurrence was analyzed. The factors affecting the recurrence of CRS, including age, CRS classification, asthma, allergic rhinitis, operation time, and SAS score, were evaluated. Results The relative expression level of miR-34a in the nasal mucosa tissue of the recurrence group was significantly lower than that in the non-recurrence group(t=13.010,P<0.001). The relative expression level of miR-34a in the nasal mucosa tissue of CRS patients of age ≥45 years with combined asthma, combined allergic rhinitis, eosinophilia type, operation time ≥2 h, and SAS scores ≥50 were also significantly lower than that in CRS patients of age <45 years with no combined asthma, no combined allergic rhinitis, non-eosinophilia type, operation time <2 h, and SAS score <50(P values were 0.003, 0.006, 0.007, <0.001, <0.001, 0.004, respectively). The area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve of the expression level of miR-34a used to predict the recurrence of CRS after surgery was 0.938. The best cutoff value was 0.55, with a sensitivity of 85.29% and a specificity of 92.09%. Conclusions The decreased expression of miR-34a in the nasal mucosa tissue of patients with CRS is related to postoperative recurrence and recurrence-influencing factors. MiR-34a can serve as a marker for evaluating postoperative recurrences of CRS.

Key words: Chronic rhinosinusitis, miR-34a, ROC curve Recurrence, Prediction