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Next generation sequencing identifies novel diagnostic biomarkers for head and neck cancers

  • Original Article
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Oral Cancer

Abstract

Purpose

Salivary microRNAs (miRNAs) could potentially serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of various types of oral cancer but the significance of it is yet to be fully elucidated. This article reports our study results on the role of salivary miRNAs and their potential use as biomarkers in head and neck cancer (HNC) diagnosis with an emphasis on oral cancers (OC).

Methods

Supernatant saliva samples from 24 subjects, including 12 OC patients and 12 healthy individuals as a control group, were initially profiled using next generation sequencing (NGS). A novel miR-7703 was further validated in 160 samples collected from OC patients (n = 80) and controls (n = 80) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays.

Results

Data analysis revealed that 373 miRNA expressions were significantly decreased and 265 miRNA expressions were significantly increased in patients with OC (p ≤ 0.05). Of the 638 miRNA, twenty-seven were non-redundant miRNAs associated with OC (p ≤ 0.0001). Validation of the novel miR-7703 showed a significant increase in the OC group when compared to the control group. Most importantly, this pattern of increased expression was also positively correlated with tumour stage, lymph node metastasis status, and clinical stage.

Conclusion

This study identified twenty-seven non-redundant, differentially expressed miRNAs associated with OC. These signatures include a number of novel miRNAs as well as those that have been previously reported in either oral or other cancers. However, miR-7703 is a previously uncharacterised miRNA with the potential to be a significant biomarker for the diagnosis of OC.

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Acknowledgements

RSF is a recipient of PhD scholarship from Australian Government and Griffith University. RSF wishes to express his gratitude towards the Iraqi Government, Iraqi Center for Cancer and Medical Genetic Research and Al-Mustansiryah University. RSF wishes to thank Dr. David Good, Physiotherapy Department, Australian Catholic University, Queensland, Australia for reading and minor editorial contribution to the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Science, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Rushdi S. Fadhil & Ming Q. Wei

  2. School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Raj G. Nair

  3. Oral Oncology, Haematology and Oncology, Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Raj G. Nair

  4. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Dimitrios Nikolarakos

  5. Griffith Health Centre, Griffith University, Parklands Drive, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia

    Raj G. Nair

  6. Room G40_9.14, Griffith Health Centre, Griffith University, Parklands Drive, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia

    Ming Q. Wei

Authors
  1. Rushdi S. Fadhil
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  2. Raj G. Nair
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  3. Dimitrios Nikolarakos
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  4. Ming Q. Wei
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Correspondence to Raj G. Nair or Ming Q. Wei.

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Fadhil, R.S., Nair, R.G., Nikolarakos, D. et al. Next generation sequencing identifies novel diagnostic biomarkers for head and neck cancers. Oral Cancer 3, 69–78 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41548-019-00019-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41548-019-00019-5

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