Pilot Study on MicroRNAs as Biomarkers of Response to Sunitinib Treatment in Patients with Metastatic Renall Cell Carcinoma

Background Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 2-3% of all malignant tumours. Metastatic RCC (mRCC) is commonly treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). Effective TKIs administration can be achieved only by accurate prediction of therapeutical response. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse papers concerning predictive potential of microRNA (miRNA). Material and methods We chose seven candidate miRNAs and analysed their expression on 44 patients divided into cohort with poor and good response to sunitinib treatment. Patients were divided into two groups according to progression-free survival. RNA from tissue samples was isolated and expression of selected miRNAs was measured using quantitative PCR with miRNA-specific TaqMan probes. Results We successfully validated two miRNAs to be differentially expressed in responding and non-responding patients to sunitinib treatment. Other analysed miRNAs have not shown predictive potential. Conclusion From miRNAs studied so far, two miRNAs had predictive value according to present study.Key words: microRNA - renal cell carcinoma - sunitib The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study. The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers. Supported by Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, grant No. 15-34678A. All rights reserved.Submitted: 19. 3. 2018Accepted: 20. 3. 2018.