Abstract
Purpose
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common subtype of kidney cancers in adults, and microRNAs (miRNAs) differentially expressed in ccRCC tumors have been identified and proposed to predict prognosis. In the present study, we comprehensively analyzed the genome-wide miRNA expression profiles in ccRCC, with the aim to generate a tumor-specific miRNA signature of prognostic values.
Methods
The miRNA profiles in tumor and the adjacent normal tissue were analyzed, and the association of the differentially expressed miRNAs with patient survival was examined with univariate Cox regression analysis. Finally, a tumor-specific miRNA signature was generated and examined with Kaplan–Meier survival, univariate, and multivariate Cox regression analyses.
Results
A total of 147 miRNAs were found differentially expressed between tumor and matched non-tumor tissues from 58 ccRCC patients. The prognostic values of these differentially expressed miRNAs were subsequently analyzed in the 411 ccRCC patients, and 22 miRNAs were found significantly correlated with patient survival. Finally, a tumor-specific miRNA signature of 22 miRNAs was generated and validated as an independent prognostic parameter.
Conclusions
A tumor-specific miRNA signature consisting of 22 miRNAs was identified and validated as an independent prognostic factor, which could serve as a novel biomarker for ccRCC prognostication and help in predicting treatment outcome.





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- RCC:
-
Renal cell carcinoma
- ccRCC:
-
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma
- miRNA:
-
microRNA
- PN:
-
Partial nephrectomy
- RN:
-
Radical nephrectomy
- TNM:
-
Tumor node metastasis
- TCGA:
-
The Cancer Genome Atlas
- AJCC:
-
American Joint Committee on Cancer
- IQR:
-
Inter-quartile range
- RPM:
-
Reads per million
- OS:
-
Overall survival
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81070597 and 81370853), Science and Education Development Program of the Jiangsu Province Health Board (LJ201107), Six Talent Peaks of the Jiangsu Province Health Bureau (2011-WS-093), and Research and Innovation Program for Graduates of Jiangsu Province (CXZZ13_0583). Our gratitude also goes to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project for generating, curating and providing high-quality biological and clinical data about clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
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Ge, YZ., Wu, R., Xin, H. et al. A tumor-specific microRNA signature predicts survival in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 141, 1291–1299 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-015-1927-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-015-1927-0