# Extracellular vesicle derived miRNAs from plasma as promising diagnosis and prognosis biomarkers for neuroblastoma

## TL;DR

This study identifies plasma extracellular vesicle miRNAs as potential noninvasive biomarkers for diagnosing neuroblastoma and predicting MYCN status, which could improve risk assessment in children.

## Contribution

The study discovers a panel of plasma-derived miRNAs that can diagnose neuroblastoma and distinguish MYCN-amplified cases with high accuracy.

## Key findings

- Six miRNAs in plasma extracellular vesicles show excellent diagnostic accuracy for neuroblastoma (AUC > 0.8).
- miR-150-5p and miR-342-3p can differentiate MYCN-amplified from nonamplified neuroblastoma cases (AUC = 0.738).
- The identified miRNAs are involved in key neuroblastoma pathways and serve as prognostic indicators.

## Abstract

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. MYCN amplification remains a critical indicator of high-risk disease and poor prognosis. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) carry microRNAs (miRNAs) with promising diagnostic potential. This study identified plasma sEV-derived miRNA biomarkers for NB diagnosis and MYCN status prediction. Using miRNA-seq, we analyzed plasma sEVs from 24 patients with NB (stratified by MYCN status and risk) and 10 healthy controls. Validation was performed in an independent cohort of 87 patients with NB and 47 controls. We identified six miRNAs (miR-150-5p, miR-142-5p, miR-30b-5p, miR-320a-3p, miR-30b, and miR-342-3p) that were significantly dysregulated in patients with NB, all showing excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC >0.8). Notably, miR-150-5p and miR-342-3p differentiated MYCN-amplified from nonamplified patients (AUC = 0.738). Functional analysis revealed involvement in key NB pathways. Our findings demonstrate that plasma sEV-derived miRNAs represent valuable noninvasive biomarkers for neuroblastoma diagnosis and risk stratification.

•Comprehensive analysis of the sEVs derived miRNAs in the plasma of patients with NB•Plasma sEV miRNA signature is a potent diagnostic biomarker for NB•sEV miRNA panel distinguishes MYCN-amplified from MYCN-nonamplified NB•sEVs-derived miRNAs function as prognostic indicators in neuroblastoma

Comprehensive analysis of the sEVs derived miRNAs in the plasma of patients with NB

Plasma sEV miRNA signature is a potent diagnostic biomarker for NB

sEV miRNA panel distinguishes MYCN-amplified from MYCN-nonamplified NB

sEVs-derived miRNAs function as prognostic indicators in neuroblastoma

Diagnostics; Molecular biology; Oncology