Table 3.
Cell‐free microRNAs detected in other body fluids as potential biomarkers for cancer
| Body fluid | Cancer disease | Study design | Differentially expressed miRNAs | Method | Number of miRNAs analysed | Number of samples | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saliva | Oral cancer (OSCC) | OSCC versus healthy controls (HC) | miR‐125a and miR‐200a ↓ | RT‐qPCR | 314 | 50 OSCC, 50 HC | 92 |
| Urine | Bladder cancer (UCC) | Invasive UCC versus superficial UCC versus HC | Invasive UCC: miR‐618 and miR‐1255b‐5p ↑ | MicroArray | 754 | 4 versus 4 versus 4 | 96 |
| RT‐qPCR | 6 | 19 versus 16 versus 20 | |||||
| Bladder cancer (UCC) | UCC versus controls* | miR‐1224‐3p and miR‐15b↑ mR‐135b↓ | RT‐qPCR | 15 | 68 UCC, 53 controls | 97 | |
| Renal cancer (RCC) | RCC & benign cocytoma (Bco) versus controls ** | miR‐15a ↑ (RCC) | RT‐qPCR | 1 | 18 RCC, 5 Bco and 5 controls | 99 | |
| Bladder cancer (UCC) | UCC versus HC versus urinary tract infection (UTI) | miR‐96 and miR‐183 ↑ (UCC versus HC only) | RT‐qPCR | 3 | 100 UCC, 45 HC, 25 UTI | 98 | |
| Bladder cancer (UCC) | UCC hi, UCC lo versus HC versus UTI | miR‐126 and miR‐182 ↑ (UCC) | RT‐qPCR | 157 | 9 each | 40 | |
| RT‐qPCR | 3 | 47 each | |||||
| Bronchoalveolar lavage | Lung cancer (LC*) | LC versus benign lung diseases (BL*) | miR‐1285, miR‐1303, miR‐29a‐5p, 650 ↑ | PCR‐Array | 700 | 3 pools LC and BL (10 each) | 100 |
| RT‐qPCR | 8 | 30 LC, 30 BL | |||||
| Lung cancer (NSCLC) | NSCLC versus cancer‐free controls | miR‐21, miR‐143, miR‐155, miR‐210 and miR‐372 | RT‐qPCR | 5 | 21 NSCLC, 10 controls | 101 | |
| Pleural effusion | Lung cancer (AD) | AD versus benign pleural effusion (BPE) | miR‐134, miR‐185, miR‐22↓ | RT‐qPCR | 3 | 45 AD, 42 BPE | 102 |
| Lung cancer (AD) | AD versus BPE* | miR‐198 ↓ | MicroArray | 160 | 10 AD, 10 BPE | 41 | |
| RT‐qPCR | 1 | 42 AD4, 5 BPE | |||||
| Lung cancer (NSCLC) | NSCLC longer survival (LS) versus NSCLC shorter survival (SS) | miR‐93, miR‐100, miR‐134, miR‐151, miR‐345 (survival indicators) | MicroArray& RT‐qPCR | Not specified | 10 (5LS, 5SS) | 103 | |
| 5 | 184 (92LS, 92SS) | ||||||
| Lung + gastric cancer (malignant) | Malignant (Ma) versus benign(Be) | miR‐24, miR‐26a and miR‐30d ↑ | RT‐qPCR | 22 | Pools 18 Ma and 12 Be | 104 | |
| 3 | 18 Ma versus 11 Be | ||||||
| Gastric juice | Gastric cancer (GC) | GC versus gastric ulcer versus normal mucosa/gastritis | miR‐21 and miR‐106a ↓ | RT‐qPCR | 2 | 42 GC, 34 ulcer, 18 normal | 91 |
| Pancreatic juice | Pancreatic cancer (PDAC) | PDAC versus NPNH and chronic pancreatitis (CP) | miR‐205, miR‐210, miR‐492 and miR‐1247↑ (PDAC) | MicroArrays | 470 | 6 PDAC, 2 pools 6 NPNH each | 106 |
| RT‐qPCR | 4 | 44 PDAC, 19 CP and 13 NPNH | |||||
| Peritoneal fluid | Metastasis of GC | GC stage T4 versus GC T1‐T3 versus GC malignant ascites (MA) versus supernatant metastatic cell lines (Sn) | miR‐21, miR‐1225‐5p↑ (serosa‐invasive GC) | MicroArray | 1126 | 3 GCT4, 3 GCT1‐3, 4MA, 2 Sn | 105 |
| Cerebrospinal fluid | Brain cancer (glioblastoma) | Glioblastoma versus brain trauma non‐tumour control | miR‐21↑ (recurrence and poor prognosis) | RT‐qPCR | 1 | 70 glioblastoma, 25 controls | 107 |
| Brain cancer (Glioblastoma) | Glioblastoma versus non‐tumour control * (Ctl) | miR‐21↑ | RT‐qPCR | 1 | 13 glioblastoma, 14 Ctl. 2 ns set: 15 glioblastoma, 15 Ctl | 108 | |
| Cyst fluid | Pancreatic duct neoplasm (IPMN) | Cystic lesions: IPMNs hi versus IPMNs lo versus SCAs | miR‐24, miR‐30a‐3p, miR‐18a, miR‐92a, miR‐342‐3p, miR‐99b, miR‐106b, miR‐142‐3p, miR‐532‐3p, miR‐21 | PCR‐Array | 377 | 15 (5 versus 5 versus 5) | 93 |
| RT‐qPCR | 18 | 50 (6 versus 14 versus 20) |
LC*, mix SCC & AD; SCC, squamous carcinoma; AD, lung cancer adenocarcinoma; NSCLC, non–small‐cell lung cancer; BL*, fibrosis, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or tracheal stenosis; BPE, benign pleural effusion (tuberculosis, pneumonia and transudate); BPE*, benign pleural effusion (tuberculous pleurisy or parapneumonic effusion); NSCLC, non–small‐cell lung cancer; Be, benign (pleural effusions from patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, heart failure or injury); HC, healthy controls; OSCC, oral squamous cell carcinoma; UCC, urothelial cell carcinoma; UCC hi & lo, high and low grade; controls*, treated for benign urinary conditions and without urinary pathology; RCC, malignant renal cell carcinoma; controls **, urinary inflammatory conditions; PDA, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; IPMN, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms; non‐tumour control *, head trauma, subarachnoid haemorrhage, normal pressure hydrocephalus, arteriovenous malformation; IPMN hi & lo, high‐grade & low‐grade IPMNs; SCAs, serous cystadenomas; PDAC, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; NPNH, no pancreatic disease, non‐healthy controls; ↓, downregulated; ↑, upregulated.