MicroRNA Biomarkers from Fingerstick Dried Blood Predict Survival in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a lethal stage of disease for which current biomarkers have modest predictive power. Liquid biopsies have emerged as a minimally invasive approach but may be inaccessible to patients with limited access to clinical facilities. Here we evaluate small-volume dried capillary blood as a biospecimen for liquid biopsies that stabilizes biomarkers for use in decentralized clinical scenarios. We focus on exosomal microRNAs miR-1290 and miR-375 that in venous blood draws predict overall progression and survival in mCRPC. Using a combination of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in matched plasma and dried blood samples from 62 mCRPC patients, microRNA recovery was optimized to exceed 50% for abundant microRNAs (miR-16-5p) but was more variable (30–70%) for lower-abundance targets (miR-1290, miR-30a-5p, miR-375). For predictive biomarkers, RT-qPCR consistently measured miR-1290 but was insufficiently sensitive to consistently detect less abundant miR-375 which was selectively depleted from DBS samples relative to plasma. Normalization by abundant, stable miRs was necessary to reduce systematic bias for correlation between plasma and dried blood extracts. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that high miR-1290/miR-16-5p ratios from dried blood predicted poor survival with a hazard ratio of 3.29 (95% CI = 1.64–6.62, p = 0.0013), performing comparably to PSA. These findings indicate that small-volume dried capillary blood may be a valid biospecimen for decentralized liquid biopsies applying microRNA profiling, and may enhance the flexibility of prognostic testing in mCRPC.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE330812 | GEO | 2026/05/29
REPOSITORIES: GEO
ACCESS DATA