Circulating Microrna Profiling For Early Detection Of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

e22051 Background: Lung cancer is a severe health problem in Western countries and the most common cause of cancer-related death. Noninvasive methods are needed to improve current approaches to detect non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and circulating microRNA (miRNA) might be applied for the early diagnosis of this disease. Methods: 108 plasma samples from 55 early stage NSCLC patients (stage I and II) and 53 high risk controls were collected at Rush University Medical Center. High risk in patients was defined to be individuals aged 55 to 75 years, having a smoking history of more than 30 pack-years, and having quit less than 15 years before randomization. All high-risk individuals were followed with annual LDCT and remained cancer-free for a minimum 2-year follow-up. Genome-wide miRNA sequencing on pooled plasma specimens from each cohort was used to identify circulating miRNA profile. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was used to confirm the expression of selected plasma miRNA targets in all individua...