Minimally invasive determination of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) subtype by means of circulating cell-free RNA.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) comprises two clinically relevant molecular subtypes that are currently determined using tissue biopsies, which are spatially biased and highly invasive. We used whole transcriptome sequencing of 10 plasma samples with tumor-informed subtypes, complemented by proteomic analysis for minimally invasive identification of PDAC subtype markers. Data were validated in independent large cohorts and correlated with treatment response and patient outcome. Differential transcript abundance analyses revealed 32 subtype-specific, protein-coding cell-free RNA (cfRNA) transcripts. The subtype specificity of these transcripts was validated in two independent tissue cohorts comprising 195 and 250 cases, respectively. Three disease-relevant cfRNA-defined subtype mark

SUBMITTER: Metzenmacher M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11792997 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature