Decreased plasma let-7c and miR-152 as noninvasive biomarker for non-small-cell lung cancer

Background: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the leading causes of death. The aim of the present study was to compare the expression of let-7c and miR-152 in surgically resected NSCLC cases and healthy cases to evaluate their diagnostic impact.

Methods: This hospital-based case-control study included 120 NSCLC patients and 360 healthy controls. The miRNA levels were measured via quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and their association with NSCLC was assessed by statistical data analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves.

Results: The expression of let-7c and miR-152 in plasma were found to be downregulated in the patients with NSCLC. Advanced studies showed that the plasma let-7c and miR-152 were correlated with the clinicopathological features such as histological classifications, differentiation status, lymph node metastasis and stage classifications. The ROC curves for the miRNAs revealed a strong diagnostic performance. ROC curve analyses revealed that both plasma let-7c and miR-152 could serve as valuable biomarkers for NSCLC cases from healthy controls with an AUC of 0.714 and 0.845.

Conclusion: It was found that let-7c and miR-152 are significantly reduced in plasma samples of NSCLC patients. These findings suggest that detection of circulating let-7c and miR-152 can be developed into a noninvasive and rapid diagnostic tool for the individuals with NSCLC.