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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
MicroRNA Based Liquid Biopsy: The Experience of the Plasma miRNA Signature Classifier (MSC) for Lung Cancer Screening
Published on: October 26, 2017
[Detecting MUC-1 mRNA for diagnosing peripheral blood micro-metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer patients]
Xiao-Qing Liu1, Hong-Xuan Ren, Zhi-Ping Wu
1Department of Medical Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical College, Kunming, Yunnan, 650118, P. R. China.
Background & Objective:
Mucins, including MUC-1, are generally considered to be products of epithelial tissues and epithelial tumors. Theoretically, MUC-1 mRNA in peripheral blood with interstitial origin indicates metastasis. This study was to explore the feasibility of MUC-1 mRNA as a molecular marker in detecting peripheral blood micro-metastasis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods:
Nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect MUC-1 gene expression in peripheral blood samples from 60 patients with NSCLC, 15 patients with benign pulmonary disease, and 20 healthy subjects. MUC-1 gene expression in K562 and HL-60 cells with non-epithelial origin, and A549 and MCF-7 cells with epithelial origin was also detected by nested RT-PCR.
Results:
The positive rates of MUC-1 mRNA were 80.0% in NSCLC group, 60.0% in benign pulmonary disease group, and 65.0% in healthy group. MUC-1 mRNA was also detected in K562, HL-60, A549 and MCF-7 cells.
Conclusion:
MUC-1 mRNA can not be a reliable detection marker for peripheral blood micro-metastasis in NSCLC patients.
