# Analysis of the Circulating miRNome Expression Profile in Saliva Samples After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in a Rectal Cancer Study Population Using Next-Generation Sequencing

## TL;DR

The study identifies specific microRNAs in saliva that change after cancer treatment, which could help assess treatment effectiveness in rectal cancer patients.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the identification of salivary miRNAs as potential non-invasive biomarkers for evaluating tumor regression after chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer.

## Key findings

- 37 miRNAs showed distinct expression differences between rectal cancer patients and healthy controls.
- Five miRNAs were validated to have significantly increased salivary expression post-radiation (p < 0.05).
- Three miRNAs (hsa-miR-203a-3p, hsa-miR-200a-5p, hsa-miR-361-5p) demonstrated strong discriminatory power for tumor regression grade (AUC > 0.7).

## Abstract

Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of rectal adenocarcinoma. In this study, we aimed to identify miRNA alterations associated with the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer patients. High-throughput small RNA sequencing was performed to assess salivary miRNA expression profiles in 31 participants (11 rectal adenocarcinoma patients and 20 healthy volunteers). Paired saliva samples were collected from patients before and after chemoradiation. Tumor regression was classified according to the modified Ryan scheme into responders (tumor regression grade [TRG] 1–2, n = 10) and nonresponders (TRG3, n = 1). Bioinformatic integration of small non-coding RNA data revealed 37 miRNAs with distinct expression differences between patients and healthy controls. Furthermore, seven miRNAs showed significant alterations in response to radiotherapy. Among these, five candidates (hsa-miR-378a-3p, hsa-miR-203a-3p, hsa-miR-200a-5p, hsa-miR-361-5p, and hsa-miR-107) were successfully validated by RT-qPCR, displaying significantly increased salivary expression levels post-radiation compared with the pre-radiation samples (p < 0.05). Notably, hsa-miR-203a-3p, hsa-miR-200a-5p, and hsa-miR-361-5p demonstrated excellent discriminatory power for tumor regression grade (AUC > 0.7). Our findings support the involvement of specific salivary miRNAs in rectal adenocarcinoma tumor regression and highlight their potential as non-invasive biomarkers to evaluate treatment response following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.