A Brief Review of MicroRNA Profiling in Human Prostate Cancer Tissues and Plasma

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer lacks optimal sensitivity and specificity.
• MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers due to their stability and reproducible expression changes in malignancy.
• Current prostate cancer diagnosis relies on biopsies, but circulating biomarkers are being explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify microRNAs (miRNAs) consistently dysregulated in both prostate cancer tissue and patient plasma.
• To investigate the overlap of miRNAs between tumor tissue and circulation for potential liquid biopsy applications.
• To assess the translational potential of specific miRNAs as minimally invasive biomarkers for prostate cancer.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature synthesis of published studies (PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate) from 2005-April 2025.
• Re-analysis of three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE54516, GSE21032 for tissue; GSE206793 for plasma).
• Identification of differentially expressed miRNAs in prostate cancer tissue and plasma using statistical thresholds (FDR < 0.05, |log2FC| ≥ 1).

Main Results:

• 24 of 318 screened articles met inclusion criteria.
• Re-analysis identified 219 and 326 differentially expressed miRNAs in prostate cancer tissue.
• Twelve miRNAs were altered in plasma, with two (miR-449b and miR-455-3p) common to both tissue and plasma.

Conclusions:

• miR-449b and miR-455-3p show translational potential as liquid biopsy surrogates for prostate cancer.
• Functional evidence for tumor-suppressive (e.g., miR-205, miR-23b) and oncogenic (e.g., miR-21, miR-182) miRNAs is summarized.
• Further research is needed for clinical qualification of miRNA panels in prostate cancer diagnostics.