Platelets’ RNA as biomarker trove for differentiation of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma from underlying cirrhotic nodules

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Among the multiplicity of factors involved in rising incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-the second deadliest cancer, late diagnosis of early-stage HCC nodules originating from late-stage cirrhotic nodules is the most crucial. In recent years, Tumor-educated platelets (TEPs) have emerged as a strong multimodal tool to be used in liquid-biopsy of cancers because of changes in their mRNA content. This study assessed the reliability of selected mRNA repertoire of platelets as biomarkers to differentiate early HCC from late-stage cirrhotic nodules. METHODS: Quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to evaluate expression levels of selected platelets-specific mRNA between HCC patients compared to cirrhosis patients. ROC curve analysis assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the biomarkers. RESULTS: RhoA, CTNNB1 and SPINK1 showed a significant 3.3-, 3.2- and 3.18-folds upregulation, respectively, in HCC patients compared to cirrhosis patients while IFITM3 and SERPIND1 presented a 2.24-fold change. Strikingly, CD41+ platelets also demonstrated a marked difference of expression in HCC and cirrhosis groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reports liquid biopsy-based platelets mRNA signature for early diagnosis of HCC from underlying cirrhotic nodules. Moreover, differential expression of CD41+ platelets in two groups provides new insights into a probable link between CD41 expression on platelets with the progression of cirrhosis to HCC.