Abstract 4441: Unveil the role of cell-free circulating microRNA in lung cancer

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Vol. 77; no. 13_Supplement; p. 4441
• Main Authors: Bianchi, Fabrizio, Melocchi, Valentina, Colangelo, Tommaso, Cuttano, Roberto, Muscarella, Lucia Anna, Dama, Elisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.2017
• ISSN: 0008-5472; 1538-7445
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4441

Abstract We previously reported the identification of a signature composed by 34 serum circulating cell-free microRNAs (cf-miRNA) diagnostic for lung cancer. Using this signature, we developed a blood test (miR-test) which was capable of detecting asymptomatic lung cancer in a large cohort (N>1000) of high-risk individuals (>50years and smokers). Interestingly, we now found that a fraction (~30%) of these cf-miRNAs were preferentially expressed in cells of epithelial origin, while another ~30% were more expressed in hematopoietic cells. We reasoned that this cf-miRNA signature could result from the extracellular release of miRNAs from cancer epithelial cells as well as from immune/stromal cells composing the tumor microenvironment. We developed an integrated strategy for the identification of the origin of cf-miRNAs through combined analysis of published circulating and intracellular miRNAs expression datasets (microarray and qRT-PCR based) and of NGS analysis of cf-miRNAs in lung tumors. Our approach will contribute elucidating the biological role of cf-miRNAs in lung cancer and explore eventual therapeutic implications. Citation Format: Fabrizio Bianchi, Valentina Melocchi, Tommaso Colangelo, Roberto Cuttano, Lucia Anna Muscarella, Elisa Dama. Unveil the role of cell-free circulating microRNA in lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4441. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4441