title: MicroRNA-20a in human faeces as a non-invasive biomarker for colorectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Detection of microRNA (miRNA) aberrations in human faeces is a new approach for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The aim of this study was to characterise miR-20a in faeces as a non-invasive biomarker for diagnosis of CRC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  miR-20a expression was significantly higher in the 40 CRC tumours compared to their respective adjacent normal tissues (P = 0.0065). Levels of miR-20a were also significantly higher in faecal samples from CRC patients (P < 0.0001). The area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for miR-20a was 0.73, with a sensitivity of 55% and specificity of 82% for CRC patients compared with controls. No significant difference in the level of miR-20a was found between patients with proximal, distal, and rectal cancer. The use of antibiotics did not influence faecal miR-20a levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  miR-20a was selected from an expression microarray containing 667 miRNAs. Further verification of miR-20a was performed in 40 pairs of primary CRC tissues, as well as 595 faecal samples (198 CRCs, 199 adenomas, and 198 healthy controls) using TaqMan probe based quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Faecal-based miR-20a can be utilised as a potential non-invasive biomarker for CRC screening.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tung On
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Yau
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Chung Wah
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Ceen-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yingxuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jingyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yujuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Qiaoyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Simon Siu Man
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Francis Ka Leung
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Joseph Jao Yiu
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C534451:MIRN20a microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: colorectal cancer; diagnosis; microRNA; non-invasive; stool biomarker