microRNAs as novel biomarkers for patients with testicular germ cell tumours

Abstract

Testicular cancer is the most common malignancy in men aged 14 - 44 years. In clinical management of testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs), measurement of biomarkers is essential. However, only <60 % of cases show increased levels of the classical markers (AFP, b-HCG, and LDH) and novel tumour markers are urgently needed. microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules and play an important role in biological processes. They are dysregulated in cancer and expression profiles might be useful biomarkers. The aim of this thesis was to validate the application of miRNAs of two clusters (miR-371-3 and miR-302/367) as novel serum markers for TGCTs. In each of the three studies, expression analyses demonstrated that serum levels of miR-371 fulfil all prerequisites for a valuable biomarker and the large-scale multicentre study showed 88.7 % sensitivity and 93.4 % specificity. Further studies are necessary to determine the miR-371 expression in metastasised patients especially during follow-up.