Diagnostic accuracy of combinatorial mRNA biomarkers for non-invasive detection and therapy monitoring of oral and oropharyngeal SCC
Menée à partir du séquençage de l'ARN d'échantillons de carcinomes épidermoïdes de l'oropharynx ou de la cavité buccale, cette étude évalue la spécificité et la sensibilité d'un panel de trois ARN messagers (c-JUN, SFN, HSP90AB1) pour détecter la maladie et suivre la réponse thérapeutique
Background : Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is increasingly common, with over 380,000 new cases annually. Despite its high incidence (6.0 per 100,000 males; 2.3 per 100,000 females) and poor prognosis, no molecular biomarkers exist for early detection. Non-invasive sampling could improve diagnosis and patient outcomes.
Methods : This pilot study used RNA sequencing to identify significantly upregulated mRNA targets in swab samples from oral and oropharyngeal SCC patients and healthy probands. After filtering, four potential biomarkers were further validated in 79 samples using RT-qPCR. CombiROC analysis assessed diagnostic performance. Additional RT-qPCR on tumour and normal tissues and fluorescence staining in FFPE tumour sections evaluated expression at mRNA and protein levels.
Results : A panel of three markers (c-JUN, SFN, HSP90AB1) showed high diagnostic accuracy: 92.3% specificity, 92.3% sensitivity, and AUC of 0.91. Fluorescence staining confirmed significantly higher protein expression in tumour tissues, supporting RNA findings. The panel showed stronger diagnostic performance in men than in women.
Conclusion : This study presents a promising non-invasive biomarker panel for oral and oropharyngeal SCC detection. Further validation in larger cohorts is needed to confirm diagnostic value and clarify sex specificity. The approach is adaptable to other tumour types and sample materials, supporting molecular diagnostics.
British Journal of Cancer , article en libre accès, 2026