A cerebrospinal fluid microRNA signature as biomarker for glioblastoma

Purpose: To develop a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) miRNA diagnostic biomarker for glioblastoma. Experimental Design: Glioblastoma tissue and matched CSF from the same patient (obtained prior to tumor manipulation) were profiled by TaqMan OpenArray (R) Human MicroRNA Panel. CSF miRNA profiles from glioblastoma patients and controls were created from three discovery cohorts and confirmed in two validation cohorts. Results: miRNA profiles from clinical CSF correlated with those found in glioblastoma tissues. Comparison of CSF miRNA profiles between glioblastoma patients and non-brain tumor patients yielded a tumor "signature" consisting of nine miRNAs. The " signature" correlated with glioblastoma tumor volume (p=0.008). When prospectively applied to cisternal CSF, the sensitivity and specificity of the 'signature' for glioblastoma detection were 67% and 80%, respectively. For lumbar CSF, the sensitivity and specificity of the signature were 28% and 95%, respectively. Comparable results were obtained from analyses of CSF extracellular vesicles (EVs) and crude CSF. Conclusion: We report a CSF miRNA signature as a "liquid biopsy" diagnostic platform for glioblastoma.