MiR-3605, miR-511 and miR-6788: Potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (LUSC) is the second most common subtype of lung cancer and lung cancer is responsible for most cancer-related deaths. It can therefore be assumed that there is still a large gap in reducing a significant proportion of the global cancer burden. To close this gap, new methods are needed that provide better diagnostic and prognostic approaches for LUSC. Given the advantages of miRNA biomolecules as potential biomarkers, a systems biology approach was used in this study to define diagnostic and/or prognostic miRNA biomarker candidates for LUSC. Accordingly, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of LUSC were identified by processing RNA-Seq expression data. After analyzing the DEGs, a reporter feature algorithm was applied, which yielded reporter miRNAs that have significant potential as biomarker candidates. Using miRNA-Seq data from LUSC, the potential diagnostic and prognostic performance of reporter miRNAs was investigated. Using this approach, miR-3605 and miR-6788 were found to have diagnostic capabilities in LUSC, while miR-511, which was found in serum, had diagnostic and prognostic properties. Overall, this study offers precious data for further experimental and clinical efforts to diagnose and predict LUSC, and the presented diagnostic and/or prognostic miRNAs were associated with LUSC for the first time in this study.