MicroRNA genetic signature in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Egyptian patients

Abstract

Abstract Background Cancer development is associated with deregulated microRNA (miRNA) in body fluids including serum, plasma, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Early diagnosis and early treatment of lung cancer improve survival and response to treatment. So, finding an easy detectable biomarker is crucially important to improve the disease outcome. So, we analyzed the differential expression of miRNA using microarray both in serum and BAL of 37 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and 30 healthy control subjects (15 non-smokers and 15 smokers). Results A total of 32 miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed in serum of NSCLC patients versus controls (13 up-regulated and 19 down-regulated), whereas 14 miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed in BAL of NSCLC patients relative to control (12 upregulated and 2 downregulated). The accuracy of MiRNAs to detect lung cancer patients versus control was 94.3% with a specificity of 97.8% and a sensitivity of 92.3%. Conclusions Expression of miRNAs is specific in both serum and BAL of NSCLC patients, indicating that they might be considered easy diagnostic biomarkers for early lung cancer detection.