Abstract
The overall 5-year survival for melanoma is 91%. However, if distant metastasis occurs (stage IV), cure rates are <. 15%. Hence, melanoma detection in earlier stages (stages I-III) maximises the chances of patient survival. We measured the expression of a panel of 17 microRNAs (miRNAs) (MELmiR-17) in melanoma tissues (stage III; n. =. 76 and IV; n. =. 10) and serum samples (collected from controls with no melanoma, n. =. 130; and patients with melanoma (stages I/II, n. =. 86; III, n. =. 50; and IV, n. =. 119)) obtained from biobanks in Australia and Germany. In melanoma tissues, members of the 'MELmiR-17' panel were found to be predictors of stage, recurrence, and survival. Additionally, in a minimally-invasive blood test, a seven-miRNA panel (MELmiR-7) detected the presence of melanoma (relative to controls) with high sensitivity (93%) and specificity (≥. 82%) when ≥. 4 miRNAs were expressed. Moreover, the 'MELmiR-7' panel characterised overall survival of melanoma patients better than both serum LDH and S100B (delta log likelihood. =. 11, p<. 0.001). This panel was found to be superior to currently used serological markers for melanoma progression, recurrence, and survival; and would be ideally suited to monitor tumour progression in patients diagnosed with early metastatic disease (stages IIIa-c/IV M1a-b) to detect relapse following surgical or adjuvant treatment.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 671-680 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | eBioMedicine |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |