MicroRNA expression profile predicts prognosis of pediatric adrenocortical tumors

Author(s):Show less -

Veronez, Luciana Chain ^[1] ; Fedatto, Paola Fernanda ^[1] ; Correa, Carolina Alves Pereira ^[2] ; Lira, Regia Caroline Peixoto ^{[1, 3]} ; Baroni, Mirella ^[2] ; da Silva, Keteryne Rodrigues ^[2] ; Santos, Paula ^[4] ; Antonio, David Santos Marco ^[5] ; Queiroz, Rosane de Paula Silva ^[1] ; Antonini, Sonir Roberto Rauber ^[1] ; Tucci Jr, Silvio ; Neder, Luciano ^[6] ; Yunes, Jose Andres ^[7] ; Brandalise, Silvia Regina ^[7] ; Panepucci, Rodrigo Alexandre ^[8] ; Tone, Luiz Gonzaga ^{[2, 1]} ; Scrideli, Carlos Alberto ^{[2, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Med Sch, Dept Pediat, 3000 BandeirantesAve, BR-SP140919 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Med Sch, Dept Genet, Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

^[3] Fed Univ TrianguloMineiro, Div Gen Pathol, Campus, Minas Gerais - Brazil

^[4] Ribeirao Preto Fac Philosophy Sci & Letters, Dept Psychol, Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

^[5] Seven Bridges Biotech Consulting, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Med Sch, Dept Pathol, Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

^[7] Boldrini Childrens Ctr, Campinas - Brazil

^[8] Fundacao Hemocentro, Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER; DEC 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Pediatric adrenocortical tumors (ACT) are rare aggressive neoplasms with heterogeneous prognosis. Despite extensive efforts, identifying reliable prognostic factors for pediatric patients with ACT remains a challenge. MicroRNA (miRNA) signatures have been associated with cancer diagnosis, treatment response, and prognosis of several types of cancer. However, the role of miRNAs has been poorly explored in pediatric ACT. In this study, we performed miRNA microarray profiling on a cohort of 37 pediatric ACT and nine nonneoplastic adrenal (NNA) samples and evaluated the prognostic significance of abnormally expressed miRNAs using Kaplan-Meier plots, log-rank test, and Cox regression analysis. We identified a total of 98 abnormally expressed miRNAs; their expression profile discriminated ACT from NNAs. Among the 98 deregulated miRNAs, 17 presented significant associations with patients' survival. In addition, higher expression levels of hsa-miR-630, -139-3p, -125a-3p, -574-5p, -596, -564, -1321, and -423-5p and lower expression levels of hsa-miR-377-3p, -126-3p, -410, -136-3p, -29b-3p, -29a-3p, -337-5p, -143-3p, and 140-5p were significantly associated with poor prognosis, tumor relapse, and/or death. Importantly, the expression profile of these 17 miRNAs stratified patients into two groups of ACTs with different clinical outcomes. Although some individual miRNAs exhibit potential prognostic values in ACTs, only the 17 miRNA-based expression clustering was considered an independent prognostic factor for 5-year event-free survival (EFS) compared to other clinicopathological features. In conclusion, our study reports for the first time associations between miRNA profiles and childhood ACT prognosis, providing evidence that miRNAs could be useful biomarkers to discriminate patients with favorable and unfavorable clinical outcomes. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/07020-9 - Molecular studies in neoplasias of children and adolescents: microRNAs signature and functional studies of candidate genes to target therapy
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Scrideli
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/20341-0 - Interactions between emerging therapeutic targets and developmental pathways associated with tumorigenesis: emphasis on pediatric malignancies
• Grantee: Luiz Gonzaga Tone
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants