Circulating microRNAs as prognostic therapy biomarkers in head and neck cancer patients.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The prediction of therapy response in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) requires biomarkers, which are also a prerequisite for personalised therapy concepts. The current study aimed to identify therapy-responsive microRNAs (miRNAs) in the circulation that can serve as minimally invasive prognostic markers for HNSCC patients undergoing radiotherapy.

METHODS:

We screened plasma miRNAs in a discovery cohort of HNSCC patients before therapy and after treatment. We further compared the plasma miRNAs of the patients to age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All miRNAs identified as biomarker candidates were then confirmed in an independent validation cohort of HNSCC patients and tested for correlation with the clinical outcome.

RESULTS:

We identified a signature of eight plasma miRNAs that differentiated significantly (P=0.003) between HNSCC patients and healthy donors. MiR-186-5p demonstrated the highest sensitivity and specificity to classify HNSCC patients and healthy individuals. All therapy-responsive and patient-specific miRNAs in plasma were also detectable in tumour tissues derived from the same patients. High expression of miR-142-3p, miR-186-5p, miR-195-5p, miR-374b-5p and miR-574-3p in the plasma correlated with worse prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS:

Circulating miR-142-3p, miR-186-5p, miR-195-5p, miR-374b-5p and miR-574-3p represent the most promising markers for prognosis and therapy monitoring in the plasma of HNSCC patients. We found strong evidence that the circulating therapy-responsive miRNAs are tumour related and were able to validate them in an independent cohort of HNSCC patients.

• Authors: I Summerer, K Unger, H Braselmann, L Schuettrumpf, C Maihoefer, P Baumeister, T Kirchner, M Niyazi, E Sage, H M Specht, G Multhoff, S Moertl, C Belka, H Zitzelsberger
• Journal: British journal of cancer (Br J Cancer) Vol. 113 Issue 1 Pg. 76-82 (Jun 30 2015) ISSN: 1532-1827 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 26057452 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• MicroRNAs

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Biomarkers, Tumor (metabolism)
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell (genetics, therapy)
• Cohort Studies
• Female
• Gene Expression Profiling
• Head and Neck Neoplasms (genetics, therapy)
• Humans
• Male
• MicroRNAs (blood, genetics)
• Middle Aged
• Prognosis