title: Serum inflammatory miRNAs predict radiation esophagitis in patients receiving definitive radiochemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, highly conserved non-coding RNAs that regulate many biological processes. We sought to investigate whether three serum miRNAs related to immunity or inflammation were associated with esophagitis induced by chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured serum miR-155, miR-221 and miR-21, before and during week 1-2 of CRT for 101 NSCLC patients by real-time PCR. Associations between miRNA and severe radiation-induced esophageal toxicity (RIET) were analyzed by logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that patients with stage IIIB-IV disease, higher mean esophagus dose or esophageal V50 had higher rates of severe RIET. Furthermore, high levels of miR-155 and miR-221 at week 1-2 of CRT were also risk factors for severe RIET (miR-155: OR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.04-2.25, P=0.03; miR-221: OR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.17-3.64, P=0.012). In addition, the fold change of miR-221 was also predictive of severe RIET (OR=1.18, 95% CI: 1.02-1.37, P=0.026). However, pretreatment miRNAs was not predictive of severe RIET.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High serum miR-155 and miR-221 during the first 2 weeks of CRT were associated with the development of severe RIET, suggesting that these miRNAs may be useful as an early surrogate for this form of toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Zhongxing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Li-E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Ritsuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Komaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, USA.
authors.forename: Zhensheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, USA.
authors.forename: Qingyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA. Electronic address: DGomez@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gomez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: NSCLC; Radiation esophagitis; Radio(chemo)therapy; miRNA