MiRNA in archival serum samples derived from breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy vs freshly collected samples: Pilot study

• Published in: Advances in clinical and experimental medicine : official organ Wroclaw Medical University 2024-12
• Main Authors: Kubeczko, Marcin, Tudrej, Patrycja, Tyszkiewicz, Tomasz, Krzywon, Aleksandra, Oczko-Wojciechowska, Małgorzata, Jarząb, Michał
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1899-5276
• DOI: 10.17219/acem/193265

Liquid biopsy, including miRNA profiling, is a promising approach to identify breast cancer (BC) resistance. However, the effect of long-term storage on the quality of miRNA assessment in archival serum has not been fully addressed. We aimed to determine whether miRNAs were recoverable from long-stored serum samples to subsequently evaluate prognostic and predictive miRNA value in the archival collection of samples from patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy at Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Gliwice, Poland. We have evaluated miRNA quantity in serum samples stored for up to 12 years. Additionally, we compared miRNA expression in archival samples to freshly collected samples derived from advanced BC patients. Forty BC patients were included in the study. Archival samples were derived from 20 BC patients treated with radical intent between 2011 and 2015. Freshly collected samples were collected from 20 advanced BC patients in 2022. miRNA was present in archived serum samples frozen at -80C° for at least 12 years. Additionally, we found significantly different expressions between the 2 analyzed groups. Expression of circulating miR-16, -17, -18a, -20a, -21, -27a, -30b, -222, and -326 were significantly higher in archival samples, whereas expression of circulating miR-19a, -29b, -29c, -128, -145, -146a, -193b, -195, -200b, -210, -221, -424, and -451a were lower than in freshly collected samples. In 14 miRs, we observed expression in both groups; however, differences were statistically insignificant (miR-1, -7a, -10b, -19b, -34a, -99a, -106b, -122, -125b, -155, -200a, -205, -223, -340). MiRNA can be identified from long-stored samples, making large prospectively collected serum repositories with long follow-up time an invaluable source for miRNA biomarker discovery.