Abstract 4039: miR-196a is a novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for laryngeal cancer
Authors: Saito Koichiro , Inagaki Koji , Uno Kosuke , Ito Yoko , Sugita Toshiaki , Nakajo Satoko , Naganishi Hideki , Yabe Haruna , Hirasawa Akira , Okubo Keisuke , Ogawa Kaoru , Zama Takeru 
Published: February 2011

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a major cause of cancer-related mortality and morbidity, comprising roughly 6% of all malignancies worldwide, and laryngeal cancer has the highest incidence in it. At present, laryngeal cancer is treated with surgery and/or (chemo)radiation, each of which can have devastating consequences on speech and swallowing function. Even with the combined treatment approaches as mentioned above, laryngeal cancers with advanced stages have poor prognosis, therefore in need of novel less invasive treatments against their high morbidity. However, although to date its relevance to smoking has been well documented, the molecular mechanism involved in laryngeal cancer development and its highly sensitive biomarkers remain to be known. Thus, we have focused on microRNAs (miRNAs) showing highly tissue-or disease-specific patterns as potential novel biomarkers or therapeutic targets with clinical applicability.

In this study, to screen the miRNAs highly sensitive to laryngeal cancer as putative biomarkers, we first examined the expression of 723 human miRNAs in 8 laryngeal tissues (1 polyp, 2 dysplasias, 3 laryngeal cancers and 2 neighboring normal tissues matched to laryngeal cancers) using microarrays (Agilent Human miRNA V2). The result showed the up-regulation of 6 miRNAs and the down-regulation of 3 miRNAs in laryngeal cancer compared to others. Subsequently, to confirm these findings and quantitate cancer-specific miRNAs, we performed quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis (TaqMan miRNA assays, Applied Biosystems) using 48 laryngeal tissue samples including 16 cancers on 5 miRNAs (miR-196a, miR-130b*, miR-133b, miR-375, miR-455-5p), which showed markedly differential expression in cancers compared with others on microarrays. The results were consistent with those from microarrays, especially when cancer samples were compared with matched laryngeal tissues as normal controls. Of the 5 miRNAs examined, miR-196a showed significant increase in cancers when compared to either benign tissues or dysplasias.

Next, to examine the utility of miR-196a as a promising biomarker for laryngeal cancer, we performed qRT-PCR on miR-196a using 83 tissue samples and 68 serum samples and found that miR-196a could be very useful in diagnosing the disease. We also analyzed miR-196a expression in FFPE sections by in situ hybridization and the result showed its robust expression in cancers but barely detectable in benign tissues

Finally, to explore whether miR-196a can promote tumor growth in vitro or in vivo, we treated human laryngeal cancer cells or xenografted nude mice, respectively, with either miR-196a inhibitor or negative control inhibitor, and found that miR-196a inhibition suppresses tumorigenic properties of laryngeal cancer.

Together with these findings, our study provided the first demonstration of miR-196a as a putative diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for laryngeal cancer.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4039.