Assessment of Circulating miRNA-17 and miRNA-222 Expression Profiles as Non-Invasive Biomarkers in Egyptian Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer is one of the main human health threats. Survival of lung cancer patients depends on the timely detection and diagnosis. Among the genetic irregularities that control cancer development and progression, there are microRNAs (miRNAs). This study aimed to assess the plasma level of circulating miRNA-17 and miRNA-222 as non-invasive markers in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Patients and methods: A total of 40 patients with NSCLC and 20 healthy controls who were matched in terms of age and sex with the patient group were included in this case-control study.. Estimation of miRNA-17 and miRNA-222 expression profiles in the plasma was done using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The relationship between both markers and their clinicopathological features were also determined. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was done to evaluate the role of these microRNAs in NSCLC diagnosis and follow-up. Results: MiRNA-17 and miRNA-222 levels were significantly upregulated in NSCLC patients compared with controls (48.32±12.35 vs 1.16±0.19 and 34.53±3.1 vs 1.22±0.14) (P=0.000). Plasma miRNA-17 level was increased, and the miRNA-222 level was decreased across different stages of the disease; however, these differences d were not statistically significant (P=0.4, P=0.5, respectively). The miRNA-17 levels were higher in the lung cancer patients with metastasis , but miRNA-222 levels were lower patients without metastasis. We found no statistically significant difference in this regard(P=0.4 vs P=0.3, respectively). ROC curve analysis showed that the sensi¬tivity and specificity of miRNA-17 were 77.78% and 87.50% , and of miRNA-222 were 50% and 88.89%. Conclusion: MiRNA-17 and miRNA-222 can be considered as non-invasive biomarkers for detection of early lung carcinogenesis and metastasis in patients with NSCLC, hence providing a basis for the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

A Review of Cancer Genetics and Genomics Studies in Africa

“…There were additional studies that used epigenetic techniques to develop diagnostic or prognostic markers for non-small cell lung cancer in Egypt. These included the study of Haroun et al ( 311 ) that identified FHIT methylation and that of Hetta et al ( 312 ) which reported circulating microRNA-17 and microRNA-22 as potential biomarkers for early detection of lung cancer.…”

MiR-221-3p-mediated downregulation of MDM2 reverses the paclitaxel resistance of non-small cell lung cancer in vitro and in vivo

“…MiR-23a and miR-451 can be used as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of NSCLC, and their combined detection can be effective in diagnosis [25]. MiR-17 and miR-222 can also be considered as non-invasive biomarkers for detecting early LC development and metastasis in patients with NSCLC [26]. In addition, the role of serum miRNA as a prognostic factor in patients with advanced NSCLC and its association with tissue miRNA expression pro les have been studied [27].…”

Circulating miR-1246 Targeting UBE2C, TNNI3, TRAIP, UCHL1 Genes and Key Pathways as a Potential Biomarker for Lung Adenocarcinoma: Integrated Biological Network Analysis

“…The expression level of miRNA-33a plays a vital role in the progression of LUAD; it could be an ideal biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of LUAD patients who have received adjuvant chemotherapy [ 10 ]. Upregulated oncogenic miRNAs (miR-130b, miR-182-5p, miRNA-17, and miRNA-222) were reported to cause the development and progression of LUAD [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]; moreover, downregulated miRNAs (miR-486-5p, miR-101, miR-133a), also called tumor-suppressive miRNAs, were reported to repress the development of NSCLC [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. miR-21 and miR-24 were significantly lower in ASO serum samples of lung carcinoma patients when compared to the samples of BSO patients.…”