KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to explore the correlation between pre-treatment miR-5682 expression and nutritional deficits in LC patients undergoing radiotherapy.
- The study concluded that miR-5682 expression may help identify laryngeal cancer patients at risk of RT-induced nutritional deficiencies.
Nutritional deficiencies are common in people with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing radiation therapy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in developing metabolic disorders by regulating genes involved in inflammatory responses in HNC.
Marcin Mazurek and the team aimed to explore the correlation between pre-treatment miR-5682 expression and nutritional deficits in individuals with laryngeal cancer (LC) undergoing radiotherapy.
The study analyzed miR-5682 expression in plasma samples from 56 male individuals with LC. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric and laboratory parameters, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and clinical questionnaires.
The results revealed that a high expression of miR-5682 was associated with significantly lower BMI, fat mass, fat-free mass, and plasma albumin levels during selected periods of the radiotherapy course. miR-5682 could distinguish between patients classified with both SGA-C and low albumin levels from other LC patients with 100% sensitivity and 69.6% specificity (AUC = 0.820; P< 0.0001). Additionally, higher expression of miR-5682 was significantly associated with shorter median overall survival (OS) in LC patients (HR = 2.26; P= 0.008).
The study concluded that analyzing miR-5682 expression shows potential clinical utility in selecting LC patients experiencing nutritional deficiencies due to RT-based therapy.
No funding was received.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38790185/
Mazurek M, Brzozowska A, Maziarz M, et al. (2024). “The Relationship between miR-5682 and Nutritional Status of Radiotherapy-Treated Male Laryngeal Cancer Patients.” Genes (Basel). 2024 Apr 27;15(5):556. doi: 10.3390/genes15050556. PMID: 38790185; PMCID: PMC11120884.
