Circulating miR-125b is a novel biomarker for screening non-small-cell lung cancer and predicts poor prognosis
A partir d'échantillons sériques prélevés sur 193 patients atteints d'un cancer du poumon non à petites cellules, cette étude montre que le niveau d'expression du microARN-125b circulant peut permettre de détecter la maladie et qu'un niveau élevé d'expression est associé à un pronostic défavorable
Purpose MicroRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that are critical regulators of various diseases including cancer, and may represent a novel class of cancer biomarkers. Recent reports have highlighted the oncogenic aspects of miR - 125b . However, the level and clinical relevance of circulating miR - 125b transcripts in human serum of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify circulating miR - 125b transcripts in human serum for use as a biomarker for stratification and prediction of prognosis in NSCLC. Methods We analyzed serum levels of miR - 125b in 193 patients with different stages of NSCLC. Blood samples were collected before surgery and therapy. Quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction of circulating miR - 125b transcripts was performed directly in serum to improve the efficiency of miRNA assessment. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of serum miR - 125b . Results We found that serum miR - 125b was consistently expressed in the non-tumor group and was significantly associated with NSCLC stage. miR - 125b expression was capable of separating NSCLC patients from control groups with an area under the curve of 0.786. Furthermore, patients with high miR - 125b expression displayed a significantly poorer prognosis compared with patients with low expression ( p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis indicated that high miR - 125b expression was an independent prognostic factor for survival. Conclusions We propose that serum miR - 125b may represent a novel biomarker in NSCLC patients and that high miR - 125b expression is an independent prognostic factor for survival.
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology , résumé, 2011