ObjectiveTo investigate the prognostic value of plasma miR-1290 in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).MethodsSeventy patients with OSCC admitted to Danzhou People’s Hospital from January 2014 to December 2018 were included in this study. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-1290 in these patients. The optimal cut-off value of plasma miR-1290 expression was determined by the ROC curve method, and patients with OSCC were divided into the high (n=31) and low (n=39) miR-1290-expressing groups. The clinicopathological features of the two groups were compared, and survival curves were drawn using the Kaplan-Meier method. Risk factors affecting the poor prognosis of patients were analyzed using univariate and multivariate COX regression models.ResultsThe expression level of plasma miR-1290 in the OSCC group was significantly lower than that in the control group (0.65±0.14 vs. 2.06±0.90;t=13.912,P<0 .001). the low expression of plasma mir-1290 appeared to be related to the clinical stage, differentiation degree, tumor diameter, and lymph node metastasis of oscc (P<0 .05). survival analysis showed that the overall survival rate and the progression-free survival rate of the low-mir-1290 group were significantly lower than that of the high-mir-1290 group (P<0 .01). multivariate cox regression analysis showed that clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, and plasma mir-1290<1.14 were independent risk factors for the poor prognosis of patients with oscc (P<0 .05).ConclusionThe expression level of plasma miR-1290 in patients with OSCC significantly decreased, and the low expression of miR-1290 is related to the short survival time of OSCC patients. Thus, miR-1290 may be a potential marker predicting the poor prognosis of OSCC.