New Projects Development Division, Toray Industries, Inc., Kanagawa, Japan.
Division of Pharmacotherapeutics, Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy, Tokyo, Japan.
Cancer Biomark. 2022;35(1):1-9. doi: 10.3233/CBM-210223.
Circulating microRNA (miRNA) is a major focus in liquid biopsy studies. The circulating levels of certain miRNAs have been suggested to reflect specific physiological conditions, and several studies have reported their potential use as biomarkers for the detection and prognosis of cancer, as well as for predicting responses to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Alongside these biomarker studies, research into the effects of specific background factors on circulating miRNA levels is progressing. Indeed, several studies have shown that a number of factors, including blood sample collection and processing methods, as well as subject-specific factors such as age, sex, and other physiological conditions, can affect the normal levels of circulating miRNAs. Unfortunately, the evidence supporting these effects is not yet strong enough to support a definite conclusion and further research is warranted. Here, we summarize the findings of several studies that have addressed these concerns and identify important topics that should be considered when analyzing circulating miRNA levels in liquid biopsy studies.
循环 microRNA（miRNA）是液体活检研究的主要关注点。某些 miRNA 的循环水平被认为反映了特定的生理状况，并且有几项研究报告了它们作为癌症检测和预后的生物标志物的潜在用途，以及预测对化疗或放疗的反应。除了这些生物标志物研究，关于特定背景因素对循环 miRNA 水平影响的研究也在进展中。事实上，有几项研究表明，包括血液样本采集和处理方法以及受试者特异性因素如年龄、性别和其他生理状况在内的许多因素会影响循环 miRNA 的正常水平。不幸的是，支持这些影响的证据还不够强，无法得出明确的结论，需要进一步研究。在这里，我们总结了一些已经解决这些问题的研究结果，并确定了在液体活检研究中分析循环 miRNA 水平时应考虑的重要主题。
