Usefulness of exosome‐encapsulated microRNA‐451a as a minimally invasive biomarker for prediction of recurrence and prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

摘要

Abstract Background Micro RNA s (mi RNA s) encapsulated in the exosomes of plasma is of interest as stable and minimally invasive biomarkers for recurrence and prognosis in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to clarify the predictive and prognostic value of plasma exosomal micro RNA ‐451a (miR‐451a) in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma ( PDAC ). Methods Microarray‐based expression profiling of mi RNA s derived from exosomes in the plasma of six PDAC patients with UICC stage II was employed to identify a biomarker to distinguish between patients with and without recurrence. For validation analysis, plasma exosome samples of other 50 PDAC patients were measured by TaqMan Micro RNA assays. Results In the mi RNA microarray analyses, miR‐451a showed the highest upregulation in the stage II patients who showed recurrence after surgery. In the relationship to pathological factors, exosomal miR‐451a showed a significant association with tumor size and stage. The overall survival ( OS ) and disease‐free survival rates ( DFS ) of the high exosomal miR‐451a patients were significantly worse than those of the low miR‐451a patients. In Cox proportional hazards model analysis, exsomal miR‐451a showed significance to OS and DFS . Conclusions Plasma exosomal miR‐451a levels may be a useful minimally invasive biomarker for the prediction of recurrence and prognosis in PDAC patients.