Assessment of the Diagnostic Efficiency of a Liquid Biopsy Assay for Early Detection of Gastric Cancer

This diagnostic study describes the development and validation of a microRNA-based liquid biopsy assay for early detection of gastric cancer. IMPORTANCE Noninvasive detection of early-stage disease is a key strategy for reducing gastric cancer (GC)-associated patient mortality. OBJECTIVE To establish a novel, noninvasive, microRNA (miRNA)-based signature for the early detection of GC using a comprehensive biomarker discovery approach with retrospective and prospective validation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This diagnostic study was conducted in 4 phases using publicly available genome sequences and tissue samples from patients at an academic medical center in Japan, and validated with retrospective multicenter cohorts of patients with GC. Three tissue miRNA data sets were used to identify a miRNA signature that discriminated GC vs normal tissues. The robustness of this signature was assessed in serum from 2 retrospective cohorts of patients with GC. A risk-scoring model was derived, then the performance of the miRNA signature was evaluated in a prospective cohort of patients with GC. The robustness of the miRNA signature was compared with current blood-based markers, and a cost-effectiveness analysis of the miRNA signature against the current practice of endoscopy was performed. All clinical samples used for this study were collected and data analyzed between April 1997 and March 2018. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Assessment of diagnostic efficiency on the basis of area under the curve (AUC), specificity, and sensitivity. RESULTS The data sets for the genome-wide expression profiling analysis stage included 598 total patient samples (284 [55.4%] from men; mean [SE] patient age, 65.7 [0.5] years). The resulting 10-miRNA signature was validated in 2 retrospective GC serum cohorts (586 patients; 348 [59.4%] men, mean [SE] age, 66.0 [0.7] years), which led to the establishment of a 5-miRNA signature (AUC, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85-0.94) that also exhibited high levels of diagnostic performance in patients with stage I disease (AUC, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83-0.94). A risk-scoring model was derived and the assay was optimized to a minimal number of miRNAs. The performance of the resulting 3-miRNA signature was then validated in a prospective cohort of patients with GC (349 patients; 124 [70.5%] men, median [range] age, 66.0 [0.66] years). The final 3-miRNA signature (miR-18a, miR-181b, and miR-335) exhibited high diagnostic accuracy in all stages of patients (AUC, 0.86; 95% CI 0.83-0.90), including in patients with stage I disease (AUC, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.79-0.91). Furthermore, this miRNA signature was superior to currently used blood markers and outperformed the endoscopic screening in a cost-effectiveness analysis (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, CNY yen 16162.5 per quality-adjusted life-year [USD $2304.80 per quality-adjusted life-year]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These results suggest the potential clinical significance of the 3-miRNA signature as a noninvasive, cost-effective, and facile assay for the early detection of GC. Question Can circulating microRNAs be used to derive clinically significant noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for gastric cancer? Findings This diagnostic study used a multistep and comprehensive biomarker discovery approach to establish a novel, noninvasive, microRNA-based signature for the early detection of gastric cancer, which was retrospectively and prospectively validated in multicenter patient cohorts. Meaning For patients with gastric cancer and individuals with a high risk for gastric cancer, a microRNA-based signature may improve the early detection of gastric cancer.