Evaluation of the Plasma Expression Levels of miR-21 and miR-145 as Potential Non-Invasive Biomarkers for Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer

Rattan Negi, Ram; Rana, Satya Vati; Gupta, Vikas; Gupta, Rajesh; Dhawan, Devinder K

doi:10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.8.2797

Evaluation of the Plasma Expression Levels of miR-21 and miR-145 as Potential Non-Invasive Biomarkers for Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

¹ Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, India.

² Department of Gastroenterology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 160012, India.

³ Department of General Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 160012, India.

⁴ Department of Biophysics Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.

10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.8.2797

Abstract

Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the world. Early detection would be greatly enhanced if accurate and cost-effective diagnostic biomarkers for CRC were accessible. The development of blood tests would evidently lower the screening cost of CRC detection. The aim of the present study was to examine the prospective of plasma miRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for CRC screening. Methods: The expressions of miR-21 and miR-145 in the plasma of colorectal adenocarcinomas and normal healthy controls were quantified by using TaqMan miRNA assays. MiRNA expression levels were also correlated with commonly used clinicopathological features of CRC. Results: Out of 30 CRC patients, 19 were male and 11 were female. The Mean age of patients was 51.3 ±14.6 years. A statistically significant increase in expression of miR-21 was observed in CRC patients’ as compared to healthy controls (p<0.001). A significant association between miR-21 expression and age group (p=0.002) was noticed. Also, a statistically significant difference (p=0.015) between miR-21 expression and tumor location in the proximal and distal sites of the colon was observed in CRC patients. Further, a statistically significant downregulation of miR-145 expression was observed in the plasma of CRC patients as compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). This is the ﬁrst study to report a signiﬁcant association between miR-21 expression, age group, and tumor location in CRC patients. Conclusion: The present study thus emphasises that the appraisal of miR-21 and miR-145 plasma levels may serve as a promising non-invasive screening tool for the early detection of colorectal cancer.

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