Exosomal miRNAs species in the blood of small cell and non-small cell lung cancer patients

Lung cancer is a devastating disease with overall bleak prognosis. Current methods to diagnose lung cancer are rather invasive and are inadequate to detect the disease at an early stage when treatment is likely to be most effective. In this study, a shotgun sequencing approach was used to study the microRNA (miRNA) cargo of serum-derived exosomes of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (n=9) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (n=11) patients, and healthy controls (n=10). The study has identified 17 miRNA species that are differentially expressed in cancer patients and control subjects. Furthermore, within the patient groups, a set of miRNAs were differentially expressed in exosomal samples obtained before and after chemotherapy treatment. This manuscript demonstrates the potential of exosomal miRNAs for developing noninvasive tests for disease differentiation and treatment monitoring in lung cancer patients.