2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer (Posters)-P1.13. Plasma Cell-free RNA Sequencing Enables Sensitive Detection of Lung Cancer

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A study presented at the WCLC 2023 conference explored the use of plasma cell-free RNA (cfRNA) sequencing for the detection of lung cancer. The researchers aimed to determine if cfRNA profiling could provide a sensitive and specific method for early cancer detection, in addition to the commonly used cfDNA profiling. <br /><br />The study used an amplicon-based next-generation sequencing test to assess the gene expression profiles of cfRNA in 40 subjects, including normal controls and lung cancer patients at different stages. The researchers designed an amplicon panel to target 24 lung cancer-associated messenger RNAs and long non-coding RNAs. The abundance of cfRNA was estimated using housekeeping genes, and a cancer-associated RNA expression score was calculated based on the normalized expression of all RNA markers.<br /><br />The results showed that plasma cfDNA concentration increased in late-stage lung cancers but not in early-stage cancers, compared to normal controls. However, cfRNA abundance increased in both early-stage and late-stage lung cancers compared to normal controls, although it did not reach statistical significance. The analysis of cancer-associated signals revealed an increase in DNA mutations and RNA markers in both early-stage and late-stage lung cancers compared to normal controls.<br /><br />By setting a cut-off value, the cfRNA expression panel exhibited an overall sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 93.8% for lung cancer detection. The researchers concluded that cfRNA profiling provides an independent measure of cancer signals and could be a reliable analyte to complement cfDNA-based technologies for early detection of lung cancer.<br /><br />Further evaluation of this preliminary study is needed to confirm the findings and determine the usefulness of cfRNA profiling in clinical practice for early lung cancer detection.

Asset Subtitle

Yee Fang Hum

Meta Tag

Speaker Yee Fang Hum

Topic Screening & Early Detection: Biomarkers/Imaging Technology

Keywords

plasma cell-free RNA sequencing

lung cancer detection

cfRNA profiling

early cancer detection

cfDNA profiling

amplicon-based next-generation sequencing

gene expression profiles

lung cancer-associated RNAs

cfRNA abundance

cancer-associated signals