MicroRNA-Profiling Based Screening of Non-small-cell Lung Cancer in Plasma

Current methods for screening and early diagnosis of lung cancer are limited to low-dose CT scans in high risk smokers, while other patients are typically diagnosed at later stages, leading to a higher mortality rate. Blood based biomarkers are needed to enrich this for at risk individuals, regardless of smoking status so as to detect early stage lung cancer. We studied potential biomarkers for early stage lung cancer using a microRNA (miRNA)-based panel. MiRNAs were isolated and quantified from the plasma of 67 patient samples (61 with lung cancer, 6 controls). 15 miRNAs were selected from a panel of 600 miRNAs based on previous work by the company MiRXES. These miRNAs were compared between patients with lung cancer and controls, as well as between different histological subtypes of lung cancer, stage and smoking history. Thus we evaluated their potential effectiveness as biomarkers for the screening of lung cancer. Specific miRNA levels were significantly different between lung cancer patients and controls: miR-618 (p = 0.0249) and miR-1290 (p = 0.03192). This was also true between different cancer types: miR-1290 (p = 0.0110), and between different smoking status: (p = 0.00772). 5 miRNAs (miR-618, miR-720 (V18), miR-1290, miR-214–3 and miR-28-5p) were identified as potentially suitable for a lung cancer screening panel, with the highest sensitivity and specificity (ROC AUC 0.915). Our panel of 5 miRNAs has the potential to be used as a non-invasive screening tool for lung cancer, with a reasonable degree of sensitivity and specificity. These results will have to be validated in further studies.