%0 Journal Article %J Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev %D 2019 %T Four-miRNA Signature to Identify Asbestos-Related Lung Malignancies. %A Santarelli, Lory %A Gaetani, Simona %A Monaco, Federica %A Bracci, Massimo %A Valentino, Matteo %A Amati, Monica %A Rubini, Corrado %A Sabbatini, Armando %A Pasquini, Ernesto %A Zanotta, Nunzia %A Comar, Manola %A Neuzil, Jiri %A Tomasetti, Marco %A Bovenzi, Massimo %X

BACKGROUND: Altered miRNA expression is an early event upon exposure to occupational/environmental carcinogens; thus, identification of a novel asbestos-related profile of miRNAs able to distinguish asbestos-induced cancer from cancer with different etiology can be useful for diagnosis. We therefore performed a study to identify miRNAs associated with asbestos-induced malignancies.

METHODS: Four groups of patients were included in the study, including patients with asbestos-related (NSCLC) and asbestos-unrelated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), and disease-free subjects (CTRL). The selected miRNAs were evaluated in asbestos-exposed population.

RESULTS: Four serum miRNAs, that is miR-126, miR-205, miR-222, and miR-520g, were found to be implicated in asbestos-related malignant diseases. Notably, increased expression of miR-126 and miR-222 were found in asbestos-exposed subjects, and both miRNAs are involved in major pathways linked to cancer development. Epigenetic changes and cancer-stroma cross-talk could induce repression of miR-126 to facilitate tumor formation, angiogenesis, and invasion.

CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that miRNAs are potentially involved in asbestos-related malignancies, and their expression outlines mechanism(s) whereby miRNAs may be involved in an asbestos-induced pathogenesis.

IMPACT: The discovery of a miRNA panel for asbestos-related malignancies would impact on occupational compensation and may be utilized for screening asbestos-exposed populations.

%B Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev %V 28 %P 119-126 %8 2019 Jan %G eng %N 1 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30257964?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-18-0453