Identification and evaluation of a serum microRNA molecular diagnostic method for colorectal polyp patients

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major healthcare problems worldwide. Screening allows early detection and removal of polyps which prevent them from developing into cancer in patients, yet a promising screening tool for polyp is still under investigation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been suggested to serve as valuable signatures for numerous disease conditions due to their small size, reduced degrading potential and higher stability in liquid biopsies. This study aims to identify a panel of serum microRNAs as an accurate and non-invasive method for identifying colorectal polyp patients. Methods: In this study we retrospectively investigated the potential of serum miRNAs as biomarker for screening polyp patients. Serum samples were collected from patients undergoing colonoscopy examination. We applied modified quantitative RT-PCR method to determine the levels of 20 CRC-associated miRNAs in serum samples of 50 control subjects and 50 polyp patients, and evaluated their potential as diagnostic biomarker for polyp by plotting ROC curves for AUC calculation. Results: Among the 20 serum miRNAs examined, levels of miR-16, miR-18, miR-21-5p, miR-25b-3p, miR-92a-3p, miR-93-5p, miR-106b-5p and miR-1246 were significantly associated with presence of polyp. A panel of these miRNAs derived by multiple regression model was able to identify polyp patients with AUC=0.7317 (p<0.001), which is to our knowledge better than most conventional tests. Furthermore, this serum miRNA panel is capable of identifying CRC and grouped CRC/polyp patients, with AUC values close to 0.7300 (p<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity were above 0.7 in all settings. Conclusions: Our miRNA panel serves as new approach of promising diagnostic biomarker for early identification of polyp which can reduce the CRC incidence and burden. © 2021 European Society for Medical Oncology. Published by Elsevier Inc.