title: Circulating miR-18a: a sensitive cancer screening biomarker in human cancer.
abstract: MicroRNAs have been reported to be stably detectable in plasma/serum and to exhibit resistance to endogenous ribonuclease activity because of binding to proteins such as Argonaute-2 and high-density lipoprotein, or being packed by secretory particles such as exosomes. These secretory particles include specific microRNAs and can function as intercellular transmitters. These findings could open-up a new and promising field in the use of circulating microRNAs for cancer treatment. In particular, miR-18a, which is located in the potentially oncogenic miR-17-92 cluster, is a highly expressed microRNAs in several types of cancers. The concentration of miR-18a in plasma/serum of patients with cancer such as esophageal (AUC=0.944), pancreatic (AUC=0.936), hepatocellular (AUC=0.881), colorectal and other types of cancers is much higher than that of healthy volunteers. Such reports provide evidence that circulating miR-18 might be a next-generation biomarker and contribute to cancer screening in non-invasive liquid biopsy, to a clinically-satisfactory degree of sensitivity and specificity.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Division of Digestive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, 465 Kajii-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan. skomatsu@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shuhei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeshita
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morimura
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirajima
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsujiura
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Mahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyamae
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shiozaki
authors.forename: Eigo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Otsuji
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D005810:Multigene Family; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C522576:MIRN18A microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: liquid biopsy; microRNAs; plasma biomarker; review