MicroRNA Expression Profile Reveals Important Clinical Tools for the Pathology of Lung Cancer

We investigated whether the miRNA expression could distinguish lung cancers from normal tissues, examining 116 pairs of primary lung cancers with their corresponding adjacent normal lung tissues collected a minimum of 5 cm from the tumor. Our analysis identified a five microRNA classifier could distinguish malignant lung cancer lesions from adjacent normal tissues. SCLC could be distinguished from non small lung cancer by microRNAs profiling. Survival associations were examined with the SCC and adenocarcinoma subtypes. High hsa-miR-31 expression was associated with poor survival in SCC, and the association was confirmed in 20 independent SCC patients by qRT-PCR assays. Overall these findings may help advance the use of microRNA profiling in personalized diagnosis of lung cancers. Key Words: microRNA; lung cancer; microarray; diagnosis; prognosis cancer vs adjacent normal tissues