Department of Radiation Oncology, Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital & Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, People's Republic of China.
The School of Clinical Medicine and Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, People's Republic of China.
Oncologist. 2022 Apr 5;27(4):e340-e349. doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyac024.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated tumor that is highly common in southern China. Our previous sequencing data demonstrated that the EBV-encoded microRNA BART8-3p was most upregulated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and was closely associated with the metastasis of NPC. However, the values of plasma BART8-3p in NPC patients have not yet been well characterized.
We quantified plasma BART8-3p expression by quantitative real-time PCR in 205 newly diagnosed NPC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare overall survival (OS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) between the groups.
Plasma pretreatment BART8-3p was highly expressed in NPC patients compared with healthy controls. Pretreatment BART8-3p yielded a 92% predictive value for detecting NPC. Importantly, BART8-3p decreased dramatically after therapy relative to pretreatment levels. High levels of pretreatment or post-treatment BART8-3p were associated with worse OS, DMFS, and LRRFS. Multivariate analysis showed that high pretreatment or post-treatment BART8-3p was an independent unfavorable prognostic marker for OS (HR 3.82, 95% CI 1.77-8.24, P = .001 or HR 2.74, 95% CI 1.27-5.91, P = .010), DMFS (HR 2.82, 95% CI 1.36-5.85, P = .005 or HR 3.27, 95% CI 1.57-6.81, P = .002), and LRRFS (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.12-3.35, P = .018 or HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.14-3.62, P = .016) in NPC. Subgroup analysis revealed that for patients with locally advanced NPC with high levels of pretreatment BART8-3p (n = 58), more cycles of chemotherapy (≥6 cycles) tended to prolong OS (P = .070). Over 50% (6/11) patients with high levels of post-treatment BART8-3p presented distant metastasis.
Plasma BART8-3p is a promising biomarker for the detection and prognosis of NPC.
鼻咽癌是一种 Epstein-Barr 病毒（EBV）相关肿瘤，在中国南方地区非常常见。我们之前的测序数据表明，EBV 编码的 microRNA BART8-3p 在鼻咽癌（NPC）中上调最为明显，并且与 NPC 的转移密切相关。然而，NPC 患者血浆 BART8-3p 的价值尚未得到很好的描述。
我们通过定量实时 PCR 定量了 205 例新诊断 NPC 患者的血浆 BART8-3p 表达。使用 Kaplan-Meier 分析比较了两组之间的总生存期（OS）、无远处转移生存期（DMFS）和局部区域无复发生存期（LRRFS）。
与健康对照组相比，NPC 患者的血浆预处理 BART8-3p 表达水平较高。预处理 BART8-3p 对 NPC 的检测具有 92%的预测价值。重要的是，与预处理水平相比，治疗后 BART8-3p 水平显著降低。高预处理或治疗后 BART8-3p 水平与较差的 OS、DMFS 和 LRRFS 相关。多变量分析表明，高预处理或治疗后 BART8-3p 是 OS（HR 3.82，95%CI 1.77-8.24，P=0.001 或 HR 2.74，95%CI 1.27-5.91，P=0.010）、DMFS（HR 2.82，95%CI 1.36-5.85，P=0.005 或 HR 3.27，95%CI 1.57-6.81，P=0.002）和 LRRFS（HR 1.94，95%CI 1.12-3.35，P=0.018 或 HR 2.03，95%CI 1.14-3.62，P=0.016）的独立不良预后标志物。亚组分析表明，对于高水平预处理 BART8-3p（n=58）的局部晚期 NPC 患者，更多周期的化疗（≥6 个周期）可能延长 OS（P=0.070）。6/11 例高水平治疗后 BART8-3p 患者出现远处转移。
血浆 BART8-3p 是 NPC 检测和预后的有前途的生物标志物。
