Plasma miR‐1254 as a predictive biomarker of chemosensitivity and a target of nucleic acid therapy in esophageal cancer

This study investigated novel tumor suppressor microRNAs (miRNAs) that decrease in plasma and predict chemosensitivity to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and revealed their usefulness as novel therapeutic agents. We selected four miRNA candidates (miR‐323, 345, 409, and 1254) based on the microRNA microarray comparing pre‐treatment plasma levels in ESCC patients with high and low histopathological responses to NAC and an NCBI database review. Among these miRNA candidates, miR‐1254 was more highly elevated in pre‐treatment plasma of ESCC patients with a high histopathological response than in those with a low histopathological response (P = 0.0021, area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curve 0.7621). High plasma miR‐1254 levels tended to correlate with the absence of venous invasion (P = 0.0710) and were an independent factor predicting a higher response to chemotherapy (P = 0.0022, odds ratio 7.86) and better prognosis (P = 0.0235, hazard ratio 0.23). Overexpressing miR‐1254 in ESCC cells significantly enhanced chemosensitivity to cisplatin through the transcriptional regulation of ABCC1 in vitro. Moreover, increased plasma miR‐1254 levels by subcutaneous injection significantly improved responses to cisplatin in mice. Plasma miR‐1254 might be a useful biomarker for predicting responses to NAC, and the restoration of plasma miR‐1254 levels might improve chemosensitivity in ESCC.