Introduction: Circulating microRNAs have been recognized as promising biomarkers for the detection of lung cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate in the plasma samples of lung cancer patients to confirm any possible relevance in the early detection of lung cancer.
Methods: Plasma samples from 47 non-small-cell lung cancer patients and 41 cancer-free subjects were evaluated for selected microRNA using the real-time PCR method. To evaluate the tobacco smoking effects on microRNAs expression, the studied groups were categorized into two subgroups: never-smokers and smokers.
Results: MiR-1 expression level was significantly reduced in lung cancer. We found that smoking had significant effects on the levels of miR-1 in the smokers of the cancer-free group (a significant down-regulation of miR-1). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that miR-1 0.905 for the same parameter, could distinguish non-small-cell lung cancer patients from cancer-free subjects.
Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated significant differences in the expression of microRNAs in lung cancer and the considerable effects of smoking on microRNAs levels. Area under curve analysis showed that miR-1 with 95% sensitivity/80% specificity might be an excellent marker for lung cancer early detection.
Keywords: Circulating MiR-1, NSCLC, Clinico-pathologic Characteristics, Early Detection