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Updated: Jun 11, 2025
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MicroRNA Based Liquid Biopsy: The Experience of the Plasma miRNA Signature Classifier MSC for Lung Cancer Screening
Published on: October 26, 2017
15.6K
Noninvasive multi-cancer detection using blood-based cell-free microRNAs
Jason Zhang1, Hallgeir Rui2, Hai Hu3,4
1Del Norte High School, San Diego, CA, USA.
Scientific Reports
|September 28, 2024
Summary
A new blood test using microRNA (miRNA) can detect multiple cancers early. This inexpensive test shows high sensitivity and specificity, improving early cancer diagnosis and patient survival chances.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Oncology
- Molecular Diagnostics
Background:
- Early-stage cancer diagnosis significantly improves patient survival rates.
- Effective screening tools for early detection are lacking for most cancer types.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) show potential as biomarkers for cancer detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test using serum microRNA profiles.
- To assess the diagnostic performance of a 4-miRNA signature across various cancer types and stages.
Main Methods:
- Serum microRNA microarray data from a large training set (1,408 cancer patients, 1,408 controls) was analyzed.
- A 4-miRNA diagnostic model was developed using 10-fold cross-validation.
- The model was validated in three independent sets (4,875 cancer patients, 3,722 controls) across 13 cancer types.
Main Results:
- The 4-miRNA model achieved >90% sensitivity for 9 cancer types and 75-84% sensitivity for 3 additional cancer types.
- Specificity exceeded 99% across all cancer types tested.
- Sensitivity for Stage 1 lung cancer was >99%.
Conclusions:
- A miRNA-based blood test demonstrates high accuracy for multi-cancer early detection.
- This inexpensive and accurate test holds promise for improving early cancer diagnosis.
- The findings support the clinical development of this miRNA blood test for widespread screening.
