Novel diagnostic value of circulating miRNA in plasma of patients with lymph node metastasis in pancreatic cancer

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K19906
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Digestive surgery
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Morimura Ryo 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (70448736)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 膵癌 / リンパ節転移 / マイクロRNA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study explored decreased tumor suppressor microRNA (miRNA) plasma levels in pancreatic cancer patients to clarify their potential as novel biomarkers. We used the microRNA array-based approach to select candidates by comparing plasma levels between PCa patients and healthy volunteers. Six down-regulated miRNAs (miR-107, miR-126, miR-451, miR-145, miR-491-5p, and miR-146b-5p) were selected. Small- and large-scale analyses using samples from 100 PCa patients and 80 healthy volunteers revealed that miR-107 was the most down-regulated miRNA in PCa patients compared with healthy volunteers (P < 0.0001; area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, 0.851). A low miR-107 plasma level was significantly associated with advanced T stage, N stage, and liver metastasis and was an independent factor predicting poor prognosis in PCa patients (P = 0.0424; hazard ratio, 2.95).

Free Research Field

膵癌