CLINICAL EVALUATION OF A PANEL OF CIRCULATING MICRORNAS IN NONSMALL CELL LUNG CANCER

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical role in the carcinogenesis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many serum miRNAs have been identied as biomarkers for NSCLC. In this study, we examined the expression of serum miRNAs (miR-145, miR-155, miR-182, miR-197, miR-205, and miR-210), and evaluated their diagnostic value in NSCLC. MicroRNAs were e Methods: xtracted from serum samples of 33 healthy volunteers, 29 patients with benign lung disease (BLD), and 55 NSCLC patients. The expression of miRNAs was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. We found that the serum miR-155, miR-210, miR-197, and miR-182 levels were signicantly Results: increased in NSCLC, while the expression of miR-145 was substantially decreased in NSCLC. In addition, miR-155, miR-210, and miR-145 were signicantly changed in all stages and subtypes. The expression of miR-182 was mainly increased in late stage, while miR-197 was mainly elevated in early stage. Moreover, miR-197 and miR-182 were mainly increased in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Finally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that combination of miR-155, miR-210 and miR-145 can be used as an ideal serum biomarker panel in the diagnosis of NSCLC. Conclusions: These data suggest that combination of circulating miR-155, miR-210, and miR-145 can be further evaluated as novel potential biomarkers in NSCLC.