Evaluation of microRNAs as liquid biopsy markers n adrenocortical tumours

Chrysoula Mytareli; Vassiliki Kalotychou; Alexandros Lafioniatis; Gregory Kaltsas; George Zografos; Athina Markou; Labrini Papanastasiou; Athanasios Fountas; Dimitra Vasilliadi; Evanthia Kassi; Marina Mantzourani; Anna Angelousi

doi:10.1530/endoabs.110.OC1.2

OC1.2

Prev Next

Section Contents Cite

Endocrine Abstracts (2025) 110 OC1.2 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.110.OC1.2

ECEESPE2025 Oral Communications Oral Communications 1: Adrenal and Cardiovascular Endocrinology (6 abstracts)

Evaluation of microRNAs as liquid biopsy markers n adrenocortical tumours

Chrysoula Mytareli ¹ , Vassiliki Kalotychou ¹ , Alexandros Lafioniatis ¹ , Gregory Kaltsas ² , George Zografos ³ , Athina Markou ⁴ , Labrini Papanastasiou ⁴ , Athanasios Fountas ⁴ , Dimitra Vasilliadi ⁵ , Evanthia Kassi ^2,6 , Marina Mantzourani ¹ & Anna Angelousi ¹

Author affiliations

¹First Department of Internal Medicine, European Reference Network on Rare Endocrine Conditions ENDO-ERN), Laikon General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece., Athens, Greece; ²Department of Propaedeutic and Internal Medicine, European Reference Network on Rare Endocrine Conditions (ENDO-ERN), Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece., Athens, Greece; ³First Department of Surgery, ‘G. Gennimatas’ General Hospital of Athens, Greece., Athens, Greece; ⁴Unit of Endocrinology, and Diabetes Center, ‘G. Gennimatas’ General Hospital of Athens, Greece., Athens, Greece; ⁵Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, European Reference Network on Rare Endocrine Conditions (ENDO-ERN), Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece., Athens, Greece; ⁶Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, Athens, Greece

JOINT1081

Introduction: Adrenal tumours (ATs) encompass a wide differential diagnosis, necessitating a multi-step process for accurate identification. Liquid biopsy emerges as a promising non-invasive technique for distinguishing malignant from benign cases. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of microRNAs as circulating biomarkers; however, their clinical utility remains underexplored.

Aim: This study aims to validate the diagnostic performance of selected circulating microRNAs, (miR-483-5p, miR-210, miR-335), identified through microRNA profiling studies, as markers of malignancy in a cohort of patients with ATs.

Methods: We collected serum samples from 90 participants, including 75 patients with ATs and 15 controls. The ATs comprised 50 cases of adrenocortical adenomas (ACA) and 25 cases of adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC). In the ACC subgroup, 16 samples were obtained preoperatively or upon detection of recurrence (active ACC group), while the remaining from disease-free patients with long-term follow-up (disease-free ACC group). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was employed to analyze microRNA expression.

Results: Circulating levels of miR-483-5p and miR-210 were significantly elevated in patients with active ACC compared to both ACAs (P<0.001 and P=0.004, respectively) and controls (P=0.002 and 0.003, respectively). Notably, miR-483-5p serum levels were higher in the group of active compared to disease-free ACC patients (P=0.01). MiR-483-5p demonstrated the best diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing active ACC cases from ACAs (AUC=0.869, 95%CI: 0.761–0.978, P<0.001), achieving a sensitivity of 81.3% and a specificity of 88%, and from disease-free ACC patients (AUC=0.854, 95%CI: 0.672–1, 230 P=0.004), reaching sensitivity of 81.3% and specificity of 89%. In contrast, miR-335 levels were not sufficient to differentiate the groups. A sub-analysis within ACC cases revealed a trend toward higher marker levels in preoperative samples compared to recurrent cases, although the observed differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Our study highlights the potential of circulating miR-483-5p and miR-210 as promising non-invasive biomarkers for distinguishing active ACC cases from ACA. The absence of miR-483-5p expression in disease-free ACC patients, in which tumor burden is low or absent, suggests that this biomarker may be useful not only for diagnostic purposes but also for disease monitoring. Future research should focus on analyzing serial serum samples from ACC patients to better understand miRNA dynamics throughout disease progression and in response to treatment.