A coordinate deregulation of microRNAs expressed in mucosa adjacent to tumor predicts relapse after resection in localized colon cancer

A coordinate deregulation of microRNAs expressed in mucosa adjacent to tumor predicts relapse after resection in localized colon cancer

Molecular Cancer, January 2018

29386021

Angela Grassi, Lisa Perilli, Laura Albertoni, Sofia Tessarollo, Claudia Mescoli, Emanuele D. L. Urso, Matteo Fassan, Massimo Rugge, Paola Zanovello

Up to 20% of colorectal cancer (CRC) node-negative patients develop loco-regional or distant recurrences within 5 years from surgery. No predictive biomarker able to identify the node-negative subjects at high risk of relapse after curative treatment is presently available.Forty-eight localized (i.e. stage I-II) colon cancer patients who underwent radical tumor resection were considered. The expression of five miRNAs, involved in CRC progression, was investigated by qRT-PCR in both tumor tissue and matched normal colon mucosa.Interestingly, we found that the coordinate deregulation of four miRNAs (i.e. miR-18a, miR-21, miR-182 and miR-183), evaluated in the normal mucosa adjacent to tumor, is predictive of relapse within 55 months from curative surgery.Our results, if confirmed in independent studies, may help to identify high-risk patients who could benefit most from adjuvant therapy. Moreover, this work highlights the importance of extending the search for tissue biomarkers also to the tumor-adjacent mucosa.