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