Are differentially expressed microRNAs useful in the diagnostics of malignant pleural mesothelioma?

Our plain-English summary of Are differentially expressed microRNAs useful in the diagnostics of malignant pleural mesothelioma?, by M. Andersen, M. Grauslund, M. Muhammad-Ali, et al (APMIS, 2012).

The study

• Authors: M. Andersen, M. Grauslund, M. Muhammad-Ali, J. Ravn, J.B. Sørensen, C.B. Andersen, E. Santoni-Rugiu
• Journal: APMIS
• Published: 2012;120(9):767-9
• Type of article: Letter
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

This letter asked whether four microRNAs (miR-17-5p, miR-30c, miR-221 and miR-222), previously reported in studies of mesothelioma subtypes or cell lines, could help distinguish malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) from reactive mesothelial proliferations. The authors, from Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, measured these microRNAs by real-time PCR (TaqMan assays, normalized to RNU6B). They used formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded epithelioid MPM tissue (stages I-IV) and adjacent non-neoplastic pleura from 13 patients (11 men, 2 women). The patients had extra-pleural pneumonectomy after 1-3 cycles of chemotherapy. Compared with non-neoplastic pleura, MPM showed significant down-regulation of miR-17-5p and up-regulation of miR-221. MiR-30c and miR-222 were not differentially expressed. The patterns for miR-17-5p and miR-221 were opposite to those previously reported in MPM cell lines. To check whether pre-surgical chemotherapy explained the findings, the authors compared surgical samples with diagnostic biopsies taken before any treatment, in six matched patients and in six further patients, and found no significant differences. Receiver-operating-characteristic analysis for miR-17-5p and miR-221 gave areas under the curve below 0.8 with p > 0.05, so the International Mesothelioma Interest Group criteria for a suitable marker were not met. The authors concluded that these microRNAs may not be suitable diagnostic markers for differentiating MPM from reactive proliferations, that this requires corroboration in a larger set of samples, and that a broad screen of microRNA expression in surgical MPM and non-neoplastic pleura samples is needed.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This letter to the editor, from Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, reported a small laboratory study of malignant pleural mesothelioma. It does not discuss asbestos. The authors measured four microRNAs (miR-17-5p, miR-30c, miR-221 and miR-222), small molecules that regulate genes. They used stored tumor tissue and adjacent non-cancerous pleura from 13 patients (11 men, 2 women) with epithelioid mesothelioma who had extra-pleural pneumonectomy after chemotherapy. Compared with the non-cancerous pleura, tumor samples had significantly lower miR-17-5p and significantly higher miR-221. miR-30c and miR-222 did not differ. These patterns were the opposite of earlier reports from mesothelioma cell lines. Comparisons with biopsies taken before any treatment showed no significant differences, which the authors took to mean chemotherapy did not affect these microRNAs. As diagnostic tests, miR-17-5p and miR-221 had areas under the curve below 0.8 with p above 0.05, which did not meet International Mesothelioma Interest Group criteria. The authors concluded these microRNAs may not be suitable for telling mesothelioma apart from reactive mesothelial proliferations, and said this needs confirming in a larger set of samples.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Letter to the editor reporting a small laboratory study comparing microRNA levels in matched tumor and non-tumor tissue samples
• Who was studied: 13 patients (11 male, 2 female; ages given in the text as 49 to 69) with epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma (stages I to IV), treated at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples and adjacent non-neoplastic pleura were collected during extra-pleural pneumonectomy, which followed 1 to 3 cycles of chemotherapy. Diagnostic biopsies taken before any treatment were also used.
• Exposure: Not an asbestos exposure study; asbestos is not mentioned. The study measured expression of four microRNAs (miR-17-5p, miR-30c, miR-221 and miR-222) in epithelioid mesothelioma tissue and adjacent non-neoplastic pleura.
• Main results:
  • In mesothelioma samples compared with adjacent non-neoplastic pleura, miR-17-5p was significantly down-regulated and miR-221 was significantly up-regulated.
  • miR-30c and miR-222 showed no differential expression between mesothelioma and non-neoplastic pleura samples.
  • The patterns for miR-17-5p and miR-221 in tissue were the opposite of those previously reported in mesothelioma cell lines.
  • Six surgical samples compared with six patient-matched diagnostic biopsies taken before any treatment showed no significant differential expression. The authors used this to rule out pre-surgical chemotherapy as the cause.
  • ROC analysis of miR-17-5p and miR-221 gave areas under the curve below 0.8 with p greater than 0.05. This did not meet the International Mesothelioma Interest Group criterion of sensitivity or specificity greater than 80% for a mesothelioma marker.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that these microRNAs may not be suitable diagnostic markers for differentiating malignant pleural mesothelioma from reactive mesothelial proliferations. They said a broad screen of microRNA expression in surgical mesothelioma and non-neoplastic pleura samples is needed.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that their conclusion requires corroboration in a larger set of samples.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma, Epithelioid, Pleura, Pneumonectomy, Chemotherapy.

Related studies

• Functional effects of differentially expressed microRNAs in A549 cells exposed to MWCNT-7 or crocidolite — C. Ventura, L. Vieira, et al. (2020)
• Diagnostic potential of miR-126, miR-143, miR-145, and miR-652 in malignant pleural mesothelioma — M. Andersen, M. Grauslund, et al. (2014)
• MicroRNA signature of malignant mesothelioma with potential diagnostic and prognostic implications — S. Busacca, S. Germano, et al. (2010)
• A diagnostic assay based on microRNA expression accurately identifies malignant pleural mesothelioma — H. Benjamin, D. Lebanony, et al. (2010)
• Diagnostic value of microRNAs in asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma: systematic review and qualitative meta-analysis — L. Micolucci, M.M. Akhtar, et al. (2016)
• MicroRNA profiling in serous cavity specimens: Diagnostic challenges and new opportunities — L. Nicolè, F. Cappello, et al. (2019)

Browse more research in APMIS, or return to medical research.