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Updated: Jul 9, 2025
Biobanking of Human Aqueous and Vitreous Liquid Biopsies for Molecular Analyses
Published on: September 11, 2023
Multicentre analysis of nucleic acid quantification using aqueous humour liquid biopsy in uveal melanoma:
Sarah B Pike1, Mark W Reid2, Chen-Ching Peng3
1USC Roski Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA; Vision Center, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
Objective:
Uveal melanoma (UM) tumour biopsy is limited by size and intratumour heterogeneity. We explored the potential of aqueous humour (AH) liquid biopsy for UM by quantifying analytes in samples collected at diagnosis and after brachytherapy to look for clinical correlations with tumour features.
Design:
Case-series study.
Participants:
Sixty-six UM patients and 16 control subjects from a tertiary care hospital.
Methods:
The study included 119 UM AH samples and 16 control samples analyzed for unprocessed analytes (i.e., dsDNA, miRNA, and protein) using Qubit fluorescence assays.
Results:
Analytes were widely quantifiable among available UM AH samples (dsDNA: 94.1%; miRNA: 88.0%; protein: 95.2%) at significantly higher concentrations than among control samples (dsDNA, p = 0.008; miRNA, p < 0.0001; protein, p = 0.007). In samples taken at diagnosis, concentrations were higher at more advanced American Joint Cancer Commission stages; when comparing most advanced stage III with least advanced stage I, median dsDNA was 4 times greater (p < 0.0001), miRNA was 2 times greater (p = 0.001), and protein was 3 times greater (p < 0.0001). Analytes were quantifiable in >70% of diagnostic samples from eyes with tumours <2 mm tall. Height had a positive association with diagnostic analyte concentrations (dsDNA: R = 0.43, p = 0.0007; miRNA: R = 0.35, p = 0.01; protein: R = 0.39, p = 0.005). Samples taken after brachytherapy showed significantly higher concentrations than diagnostic samples (p < 0.01 for all).
Conclusions:
UM AH is a rich repository of analytes. Samples from eyes with more advanced stage and larger tumours had higher concentrations, though analytes also were quantifiable in eyes with smaller, less advanced tumours. Future analysis of AH analytes may be informative in the pursuit of personalized UM treatments.
