Abstract

Identification and Characterization of Circulating Long Non-Coding RNAs and HPV16/18 Cell-Free DNA as Cancer Biomarkers from Serum of Cervical Cancer Patients

Tawin Iempridee, Researcher, National Nanotechnology Center, Thailand

Cervical cancer is the second most common female malignancy worldwide and it remains a health crisis in developing countries. Current screening and diagnosis require an invasive vaginal examination, limiting women's participation. Many Thai patients, thus, progress to metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, leading to poor survival outcome. The availability of blood-based screening may increase participation in the screening program and reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. In this study, we identified cervical cancer biomarkers by profiling expressions of circulating RNA from serum of cervical cancer patients and controls using microarrays and RT-qPCR. We identified lncRNAs RP11-204K16.1, XLOC_012542, and U6 small nuclear RNA as the most stable reference genes for data normalization. These genes were also applicable for samples from vastly different age groups or with hemolysis. In addition, we discovered lncRNAs AC017078.1 and XLOC_011152 as potential biomarkers whose expressions were down-regulated in cervical cancer, exhibiting the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97 and 0.95, respectively. Additionally, we found that a combination of cell-free HPV16 and HPV18 E7 DNA could also serve as serum biomarkers, giving the AUC of 0.71. These blood-based biomarkers may be utilized for developing a minimally-invasive test for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis.