Abstract 4956: Identification of microRNAs differentially expressed between lung squamous cell carcinoma and lung adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Recent advances in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with new agents require accurate histological subtyping at diagnosis in order to avoid the higher risk of an adverse response and obtain a maximum therapeutic response. However, interobserver variability, tumor heterogeneity and the degree of differentiation may influence the decision concerning a pathological diagnosis of NSCLC. We therefore in this study attempted to identify specific microRNAs as standardized biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing between squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC). Methods: Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) based microRNA array was performed to identify microRNAs differentially expressed between SCC and AC using 86 resected NSCLC samples as well as adjacent normal tissues. The results were confirmed by independent qRT-PCR assays with the same test samples and an additional 88 validation samples and the usefulness of the identified microRNAs as biomarkers to distinguish between SCC and AC was evaluated. Results: Three microRNAs (hsa-miR-196b, hsa-miR-205 and hsa-miR-375) were identified. Discriminant analysis combining all 3 microRNAs appeared to distinguish SCC from AC accurately in the test samples and the validation samples, showing sensitivity and specificity of 76% and 80%, and 85% and 83%, respectively. Conclusions: Hsa-miR-196b, hsa-miR-205 and hsa-miR-375 were identified as biomarkers capable of distinguishing between lung SCC and lung AC. These newly identified microRNAs may prove to be highly valuable molecular markers for the classification of NSCLC histologic subtypes, and could potentially contribute to the pathogenesis of each subtype of NSCLC. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4956. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4956