Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by tumor cells have been documented to hold viable biomarker potential. Therefore, the present study evaluated the potential clinical value of EV‑microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) in the plasma exosomes of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) for the early diagnosis and screening of CRC. In total, 95 plasma samples were collected at The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou, China) between 2017 and 2019. Specifically, 68 samples were from patients with CRC and 27 were from healthy control (HC) donors. High‑throughput sequencing was used to detect the expression of miRNAs in the isolated plasma EVs, which was subsequently verified by reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the diagnostic potential of single and combined miRNAs for CRC. Bioinformatics analysis was employed to predict the target genes of candidate miRNAs. Compared with those in the HC group, the CRC group expressed higher levels of miR‑99b‑5p and miR‑409‑3p, especially during the early stages of CRC. Clinicopathological analysis confirmed the higher expression levels of miR‑99b‑5p during the early stages, as well as higher expression levels in the colon compared with those in the rectum. ROC curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) of miR‑99b‑5p for the diagnosis of early CRC was 73.5% (P=0.007). The early diagnostic capability of miR‑99b‑5p combined with miR‑409‑3p for CRC was evaluated, and the AUC was found to be 74.1% (P=0.006). In addition, the AUC of the combination of miR‑99b‑5p, miR‑409‑3p and carcinoembryonic antigen was 81.2% (P<0.001), indicating that this three‑parameter combination displayed higher diagnostic power compared with any single miRNA for early CRC screening. The results from the present study suggest that the expression of miR‑99b‑5p in plasma exosomes is significantly upregulated in CRC, which holds potential for the early diagnosis of this cancer type. Such potential can be enhanced further by combining it with other miRNAs. Therefore, the present study provides a comprehensive but preliminary insight for the viability of miR‑99b‑5p (alone or combined with other miRNAs) for CRC diagnosis, which requires further exploration in the future.

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