Association between the expression of microRNAs and the response of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer to preoperative chemoradiotherapy

Eriksen,Anne    Haahr Mellergaard; Sørensen,Flemming  Brandt; Andersen,Rikke  Fredslund; Jakobsen,Anders; Hansen,Torben  Frøstrup

doi:10.3892/ol.2017.6141

Association between the expression of microRNAs and the response of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer to preoperative chemoradiotherapy

Authors:
- Anne Haahr Mellergaard Eriksen
- Flemming Brandt Sørensen
- Rikke Fredslund Andersen
- Anders Jakobsen
- Torben Frøstrup Hansen
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Affiliations: Department of Oncology, Danish Colorectal Cancer Center South, Vejle Hospital, 7100 Vejle, Denmark, Institute of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Danish Colorectal Cancer Center South, Vejle Hospital, 7100 Vejle, Denmark
Published online on: May 9, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2017.6141
Pages: 201-209
Copyright: © Eriksen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by mesorectal excision is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). The balance between treatment efficacy and toxicity is a major issue in the clinical management of these patients. There is a requirement for the identification of predictive molecular biomarkers for the response of patients to CRT. The present study aimed to analyze the association between microRNA (miRNA/miR) expression and treatment efficacy in patients with LARC who were treated with preoperative CRT. From previous clinical trials, 55 patients for the test cohort and 130 patients for the validation cohort met the criteria for the present investigation. Through reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, the expression of miR‑21, ‑31, ‑125b, ‑145 and ‑630 in the diagnostic biopsies was analyzed. The primary endpoint of tumor regression was evaluated according to Mandard's Tumor Regression Grade (TRG) system. In the test cohort, a significant association was identified between low miRNA‑145 expression and TRG1+2 (P=0.0003). Similarly, this association was identified in the validation cohort, although it did not reach statistical significance. Furthermore, a significant association between high miRNA‑21 expression and TRG1+2 (P=0.035) was observed in the validation cohort. The remaining miRNAs analyzed were not associated with TRG. The results of the present study highlight the clinical importance of miRNAs in LARC and underline the necessity for validation studies in this setting.

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