Analysis of U2 Small Nuclear RNA Fragments in the Bile Differentiates Cholangiocarcinoma from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and Other Benign Biliary Disorders

Background and Objectives Up to now the diagnosis of early stage cholangiocarcinoma (CC) has remained difficult, with low sensitivities reported for current diagnostic methods. Based on recent promising findings about circulating U2 small nuclear RNA fragments (RNU2-1f) as novel blood-based biomarkers for pancreatic and colorectal adenocarcinoma, we studied the utility of RNU2-1f as a diagnostic marker of CC in bile fluid.