Abstract
BackgroundSynovial sarcoma account for approximately 10 % of all soft-tissue tumors and occur most frequently in young adults. A specific translocation in this sarcoma induces fusion of the SYT gene on chromosome 18 to the SSX genes on chromosome X, leading to proliferation of the tumor cells. The need for non-invasive biomarkers indicating recurrence and activity of this disease has sparked research into short non-coding RNA known as microRNA (miRNA).MethodsBlood samples of patients with active synovial sarcoma and of synovial sarcoma patients in complete remission as well as of healthy donors and patients with active leiomyosarcoma, MPNST, Ewing sarcoma and liposarcoma were collected. Whole blood RNA was extracted and samples of patients with active synovial sarcoma and of healthy donors were analyzed using an Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA Array v. 4.0. qRT-PCR was carried out to confirm a panel of miRNAs which where differentially expressed in the miRNA array. This miRNA-panel was further evaluated in patients with synovial sarcoma in complete remission and patients with active leiomyosarcoma, MPNST, Ewing sarcoma and liposarcoma as well as in an independent cohort of synovial sarcoma patients.ResultsUnsupervised hierarchical clustering of the miRNA arrays separated patients with active synovial sarcoma from healthy controls. A panel of seven miRNAs (miR-99a-5p, miR-146b-5p, miR-148b-3p, miR-195-5p, miR-223-3p, miR-500b-3p and miR-505-3p) was further validated by qRT-PCR to be significantly upregulated in synovial sarcoma patients. Moreover, most of the analyzed miRNAs were shown to be significantly upregulated in synovial sarcoma patients compared to leiomyosarcoma, MPNST, Ewing sarcoma and liposarcoma patients. Validation of the miRNA panel in an independent cohort of synovial sarcoma patients confirmed higher expression levels compared to healthy controls and patients in complete remission.ConclusionOur results have identified a specific whole blood miRNA signature that may serve as an independent biomarker for the diagnosis of local recurrence or distant metastasis of synovial sarcoma. It even distinguishes synovial sarcoma from other sarcoma subtypes, thus potentially serving as a specific biomarker for synovial sarcoma.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12943-015-0424-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Synovial sarcoma account for approximately 10 % of all soft-tissue tumors and occur most frequently in young adults
Diagnosis of local recurrence or distant metastasis of synovial sarcoma is restricted to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and biopsy [2]
Compared to patients with active liposarcoma (n = 6), all seven analyzed miRNAs were shown to be significantly upregulated (Fig. 2). These results suggest that the detection of these miRNAs in whole blood of synovial sarcoma patients provides a non-invasive way to detect distant metastasis or local recurrence and this “liquid biopsy” could potentially develop into a further keystone of tumor diagnosis and staging
Summary
Synovial sarcoma account for approximately 10 % of all soft-tissue tumors and occur most frequently in young adults. The need for non-invasive biomarkers indicating recurrence and activity of this disease has sparked research into short non-coding RNA known as microRNA (miRNA). Soft tissue sarcoma constitute a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors of mesenchymal origin, showing frequent local recurrence and distant metastasis [1, 2]. Synovial sarcoma account for approximately 10 % of all soft-tissue sarcoma and most frequently develop in the extremity of young adults [3]. The need for non-invasive biomarkers indicating recurrence and activity of this disease has sparked research into microRNAs (miRNAs), which are small, non-coding molecules of about 22 nucleotides in length. MiRNAs regulate the expression of target genes through mRNA degradation and translation inhibition [9], and have been shown to serve as potential biomarkers in different malignancies [10,11,12]
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