A plasma 9-microRNA signature for lung cancer early detection: a multicenter validation

Lung cancer is the most critical concern in oncology worldwide, due to its substantial morbidity and mortality rates. Low-dose computed tomography (LD-CT) screening is considered the best promising strategy to alter the fatal prognosis of this disease, in combination with effective minimally invasive molecular testing. Although, several approaches based on blood-borne biomarkers (e.g. ctDNA, CTC, proteins, antibodies and microRNAs) have been proposed to better identify at-risk populations, and characterize the nature of screening-detected nodules, their use has not been successfully implemented in clinical settings. To this end, we propose a signature of 9 circulating miRNAs derived from a robust multi-platform workflow with a multi-center design, for a total of 276 lung cancer and 451 non-cancer controls, based on the data from two European LD-CT screening cohorts (Poland and Italy). A total of 276 lung cancer and 451 non-cancer controls (plasma samples) were analyzed.