Non-invasive prognostic markers for Resected Early-STage NSCLC: role of circulatING and exosomal miRNAs and free circulating DNA (RESTING)

Prospective multicenter international observational cohort study

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the primary cause of cancer-related death. Worldwide, about 20% of cases are diagnosed at an early stage, allowing an effective pulmonary resection. However, lung cancer 5-years survival rate remains below 16% mainly because of disseminated disease, also in fully resected early stages. Biomarkers able to identify patients with a higher risk of relapse could be very useful. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), in both microvesicles-free and microvesicles-encapsulated forms, represent promising markers in this setting. Some studies in the literature and our preliminary data have shown that specific miRNA signatures could have a prognostic role in NSCLC, both in the early-stage and in the metastatic disease. Moreover, free circulating DNA (fcDNA) is another prognostic marker in advanced NSCLC, whereas its role in early stage lung cancer is not so clear yet.