MicroRNA-31 might predict lung-cancer spread
Determining whether a patient’s lung cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes is critical for identifying the most effective therapy, but it usually requires surgery. A new study suggests, however, that measuring levels of a particular molecule in a sample of tumour tissue might accurately answer the question.
Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) have discovered that levels of microRNA-31 (miR-31) predict the spread of the most common form of lung cancer to nearby lymph nodes.
They found that high levels of miR-31 in primary tumour cells predicted lymph node metastasis and poor survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Low expression levels were associated with the absence of metastases and excellent survival.
‘Our findings suggest that microRNA expression in the primary lung tumour can estimate whether the tumour has spread to the lymph nodes and can help direct patients to the most appropriate treatment,’ says principal investigator Tim Lautenschlaeger, MD, a researcher in Radiation Oncology and the OSUCCC – James Experimental Therapeutics Program.
‘Many patients undergo radiation therapy for NSCLC, and particularly those with early stage disease do not routinely undergo surgical staging,’ he explains. ‘Staging with positron emission tomography-computed tomography is very useful but not perfect. MiR-31 and other microRNAs can potentially improve our ability to correctly stage these patients.
‘Additionally, if we can better estimate invasiveness of each patient’s tumour, we could individualise treatment to include the invasive microscopic disease while sparing as much normal tissue as possible.’
An estimated 228,190 cases of lung cancer are expected to occur in the United States in 2013, along with 159,500 deaths from the disease. NSCLC accounts for about 80 percent of all lung-cancer patients. Adenocarcinoma is the most common subtype, representing about 40 percent of all lung cancer cases. The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
