GSE37710
MiR-27a-3p in peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a potential marker for pancreatic cancer screening
Background & Aims: MicroRNAs have been shown to offer great potential in the diagnosis of cancer. We aimed to identify microRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for diagnosing pancreatic cancer (PC). Methods: PBMCs microRNA expression was investigated in three independent cohorts including 352 participants (healthy, benign pancreatic/peripancreatic diseases (BPD), and PC). First, we used sequencing technology to identify differentially expressed microRNAs in 60 PBMCs samples for diagnosing PC. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assay was then applied to evaluate the expression of selected microRNAs. A logistic regression model was constructed using an independent cohort. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy. Results: We found that PBMCs miR-27a-3p could efficiently discriminate PC from BPD (AUC=0.840; 95% CI, 0.787 to 0.885; sensitivity=82.2%, specificity=76.7%). A panel composed of PBMCs miR-27a-3p and serum CA19-9 provided a high diagnostic accuracy in differentiating PC from BPD in the clinical setting (AUC=0.886; 95% CI, 0.837 to 0.923; sensitivity=85.3%, specificity=81.6%). The satisfactory diagnostic performance of the panel persisted regardless of disease status (AUCs for tumour-node-metastasis stages?,?, and ? were 0.881, 0.884, and 0.893, respectively).  Conclusion: PBMCs miR-27a-3p could be a potential marker for PC screening. A panel composed of PBMCs miR-27a-3p and serum CA19-9 has considerable clinical value in diagnosing early-stage PC. Therefore, patients who would have otherwise missed the curative treatment window can benefit from optimal therapy. Overall design: Examination of different MicroRNA profiles in 3 types of PBMCs samples