miRNA sequencing reveals differentially expressed tumor tissue or plasma miRNAs with diagnostic potential in pediatric Burkitt lymphoma patients.
Pediatric Burkitt lymphoma (pBL) is an aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma observed in children, which requires rapid diagnosis for effective therapeutic interventions. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of microRNAs (miRNAs) differentially expressed in treatment-naive pBL patients, in their tumor tissue or in plasma samples that contain circulating cell-free and exosomal miRNAs. We observed that concentrations of total circulating cell-free miRNAs were significantly higher in pBL cases compared with patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), serving as a non-cancer reference. We employed miRNA sequencing (miRNA-Seq) followed by comparative analysis of miRNA expression levels between pBL and OSA cases. Our investigations revealed specific differentially expressed miRNAs demonstrating promising diagnostic potential, either individually or in dual or triple combinations. Correlation analyses were performed with qRT-PCR for certain selected tumor tissue or plasma miRNAs to cross-validate miRNA-Seq expression results.