Scientists find markers for testicular cancer

Scientists in the Netherlands have made significant advances in testicular cancer research, by identifying and analysing a set of specific microRNA molecular markers that are involved in the development of testicular tumours.

The study, which will be published in the November issue of The Journal of Pathology, provides new information about the unique cellular events that cause testicular cancer. These findings could potentially lead to earlier identification of the disease and new approaches for treating the cancer.

Although testicular cancer is relatively rare in the general population, it is the most common cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 44 years old. This study has found that normal and cancerous cells contain distinctly different amounts of microRNAs, which means a tumour’s microRNA expression pattern could provide vital information about the malignancy of the tumour.

The information could help clinicians to identify testicular cancer patients more quickly and more accurately, and provide more precise prognoses than current approaches.

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression. They play an important role in many biological processes, particularly in cell differentiation and development. MicroRNAs have also been implicated in a number of different diseases, including various cancers. Research related to microRNAs is one of the fastest growing areas in biology.

Led by Prof Leendert Looijenga from the Department of Pathology at the Erasmus Medical Center, the team profiled the expression patterns of 157 microRNA molecules in a series of different testicular tumours and normal testicular tissue samples.

They deployed a high-throughput, quantitative PCR-based approach to compare the microRNA expression profiles of multiple cell tumour samples in parallel.

Real-time PCR workflow enabled the researchers to accurately determine the relative levels of mature microRNAs across a large number of different tumour samples, including those microRNAs present at levels too low to detect and quantify using other methods.

“These findings have provided us with a new level of information for understanding the biology of cancer and these will also be applicable to breast, lung, colon and other cancers,” said Looijenga.