Panel of serum miRNAs as potential non-invasive biomarkers for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Early-stage diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is difficult due to non-specific symptoms. Circulating miRNAs in body fluids have been emerging as potential non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis of many cancers. Thus, this study aimed to assess a panel of miRNAs for their ability to differentiate PDAC from chronic pancreatitis (CP), a benign inflammatory condition of the pancreas. Next-generation sequencing was performed to identify miRNAs present in 60 FFPE tissue samples (27 PDAC, 23 CP and 10 normal pancreatic tissues). Four up-regulated miRNAs (miR-215-5p, miR-122-5p, miR-192-5p, and miR-181a-2-3p) and four down-regulated miRNAs (miR-30b-5p, miR-216b-5p, miR-320b, and miR-214-5p) in PDAC compared to CP were selected based on next-generation sequencing results. The levels of these 8 differentially expressed miRNAs were measured by qRT-PCR in 125 serum samples (50 PDAC, 50 CP, and 25 healthy controls (HC)). The results showed significant upregulation of miR-215-5p, miR-122-5p, and miR-192-5p in PDAC serum samples. In contrast, levels of miR-30b-5p and miR-320b were significantly lower in PDAC as compared to CP and HC. ROC analysis showed that these 5 miRNAs can distinguish PDAC from both CP and HC. Hence, this panel can serve as a non-invasive biomarker for the early detection of PDAC.