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Published online: 11 March 2009 | doi:10.1038/nchina.2009.46
Colorectal cancer: Early warning
Felix Cheung
Abstract
Plasma microRNAs could help discriminate patients with colorectal cancer from those without
Original article citation
et al. Differential expression of microRNAs in plasma of colorectal cancer patients: A potential marker for colorectal cancer screening. Gut doi:10.1136/gut.2008.167817 (2009).Introduction
© (2009) istockphoto.com/Alexander Chelmodeev
Colorectal cancer kills more than 600,000 people worldwide every year1. The cancer can be prevented by regular screening, with colonoscopy being the most reliable method for early diagnosis. However, the invasive nature and high cost of colonoscopy have hampered its wide application. Joseph Jao Yiu Sung and co-workers at Chinese University of Hong Kong have discovered two microRNAs (miRNAs) that are present in high levels in the plasma of patients with colorectal cancer. The researchers suggest that the miRNAs could serve as cheap, non-invasive biomarkers for the early detection of colorectal cancer.
MiRNAs are small non-protein-coding RNAs, which have recently been recognized to play a role in the formation and development of tumours. Some studies have already linked several miRNAs in plasma to breast and nasopharyngeal cancers.
The researchers performed miRNA profiling on plasma samples obtained from healthy patients and those with colorectal cancer. They found two miRNAs, miR-17-3p and miR-92, were significantly elevated in patients with colorectal cancer. The plasma levels of these miRNAs were significantly reduced after these patients received surgery.
The researchers tested how these two miRNAs performed at discriminating colorectal cancer from non-cancer in 140 plasma samples. They found both markers performed well, but miR-92 was the better of the two, with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 70%. The researchers' next step now is to test the biomarker in a large-scale study.
The authors of this work are from:
Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, and Department of Surgery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
References
- http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/
- Ng, E. K. O. et al. Differential expression of microRNAs in plasma of colorectal cancer patients: A potential marker for colorectal cancer screening. Gut doi:10.1136/gut.2008.167817 (2009). | Article |
