Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and metastatic disease is associated with a significant survival rate drop. There is an urgent need for consistent tumor biomarkers to scale precision medicine and reduce cancer mortality. Here, we aimed to identify a melanoma-specific circulating microRNA signature and assess its value as a diagnostic tool.

Background Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and metastatic disease is associated with a significant survival rate drop. There is an urgent need for consistent tumor biomarkers to scale precision medicine and reduce cancer mortality. Here, we aimed to identify a melanoma-specific circulating microRNA signature and assess its value as a diagnostic tool. Methods The study consisted of a discovery phase and two validation phases. Circulating plasma extracellular vesicles (pEV) associated microRNA profiles were obtained from a discovery cohort of metastatic melanoma patients and normal subjects as controls. A pEV-microRNA signature was obtained using a LASSO penalized logistic regression model. The pEV-microRNA signature was subsequently validated both in a publicly available dataset and in an independent internal cohort. Results We identified and validated in three independent cohorts a panel of melanoma-specific circulating microRNAs that showed high accuracy in differentiating melanoma patients from healthy subjects with an area under the curve (AUC) of 1.00, 0.94 and 0.75 respectively. Investigation of the function of the pEV-microRNA signature evidenced their possible immune suppressive role in melanoma patients. Conclusions We demonstrate that a blood test based on circulating microRNAs can non-invasively detect melanoma, offering a novel diagnostic tool for improving standard care. Moreover, we revealed an immune suppressive role for melanoma pEV-microRNAs.

A novel microRNA signature for the detection of melanoma by liquid biopsy / Sabato, Claudia; Noviello, Teresa Maria Rosaria; Covre, Alessia; Coral, Sandra; Caruso, Francesca Pia; Besharat, Zein Mersini; Splendiani, Elena; Masuelli, Laura; Battistelli, Cecilia; Vacca, Alessandra; Catanzaro, Giuseppina; Po, Agnese; Anichini, Andrea; Maio, Michele; Ceccarelli, Michele; Di Giacomo, Anna Maria; Ferretti, Elisabetta. - In: JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE. - ISSN 1479-5876. - 20:1(2022). [10.1186/s12967-022-03668-1]

A novel microRNA signature for the detection of melanoma by liquid biopsy

Sabato, Claudia;Besharat, Zein Mersini;Splendiani, Elena;Masuelli, Laura;Battistelli, Cecilia;Vacca, Alessandra;Catanzaro, Giuseppina;Po, Agnese;Ferretti, Elisabetta
2022

Abstract

Background Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and metastatic disease is associated with a significant survival rate drop. There is an urgent need for consistent tumor biomarkers to scale precision medicine and reduce cancer mortality. Here, we aimed to identify a melanoma-specific circulating microRNA signature and assess its value as a diagnostic tool. Methods The study consisted of a discovery phase and two validation phases. Circulating plasma extracellular vesicles (pEV) associated microRNA profiles were obtained from a discovery cohort of metastatic melanoma patients and normal subjects as controls. A pEV-microRNA signature was obtained using a LASSO penalized logistic regression model. The pEV-microRNA signature was subsequently validated both in a publicly available dataset and in an independent internal cohort. Results We identified and validated in three independent cohorts a panel of melanoma-specific circulating microRNAs that showed high accuracy in differentiating melanoma patients from healthy subjects with an area under the curve (AUC) of 1.00, 0.94 and 0.75 respectively. Investigation of the function of the pEV-microRNA signature evidenced their possible immune suppressive role in melanoma patients. Conclusions We demonstrate that a blood test based on circulating microRNAs can non-invasively detect melanoma, offering a novel diagnostic tool for improving standard care. Moreover, we revealed an immune suppressive role for melanoma pEV-microRNAs.
2022
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and metastatic disease is associated with a significant survival rate drop. There is an urgent need for consistent tumor biomarkers to scale precision medicine and reduce cancer mortality. Here, we aimed to identify a melanoma-specific circulating microRNA signature and assess its value as a diagnostic tool.
Biomarkers signature; Diagnosis; Extracellular vesicles; Liquid biopsy; Melanoma; microRNAs; Biomarkers, Tumor; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Liquid Biopsy; Circulating MicroRNA; Melanoma; MicroRNAs
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
A novel microRNA signature for the detection of melanoma by liquid biopsy / Sabato, Claudia; Noviello, Teresa Maria Rosaria; Covre, Alessia; Coral, Sandra; Caruso, Francesca Pia; Besharat, Zein Mersini; Splendiani, Elena; Masuelli, Laura; Battistelli, Cecilia; Vacca, Alessandra; Catanzaro, Giuseppina; Po, Agnese; Anichini, Andrea; Maio, Michele; Ceccarelli, Michele; Di Giacomo, Anna Maria; Ferretti, Elisabetta. - In: JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE. - ISSN 1479-5876. - 20:1(2022). [10.1186/s12967-022-03668-1]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1657751
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