Mortality rates of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved over the past 20 years; however, a significant portion of deaths stems from the lack of prognostic biomarkers, which can direct therapy and overcome drug resistance. microRNA‐155a (miRNA‐155a) and miRNA‐181a are two single‐stranded miRNAs involved in the pathogenesis of many types of leukemia and lymphoma and is linked to drug resistance. We investigated their expression levels in 55 patients, 45 diagnosed with ALL and 10 as a control group. We found that miRNA‐155a and miRNA‐181a were significantly upregulated in the ALL group with both being linked to high levels of minimal residual disease and poor prognosis. miRNA‐155a cutoff value was significant in discriminating between high‐ and low‐risk ALL patients as well as between ALL patients and healthy controls, miRNA‐181a cutoff value, however, was not significant. Both markers levels were significantly downregulated after therapy. We conclude that miR‐155 is correlated with poor prognosis in ALL, whereas we couldn’t link miRNA‐181a to the prognosis in ALL. Moreover, the marked decrease in their expression after therapy could reflect their impact on disease outcome.

Aim and Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a lethal cancer mainly caused by chronic exposure of asbestos. In this pilot study, we aimed to assess the expression of serum RNA-based biomarker panel exploring their clinical utility as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for MPM. Methods: We have selected an MPM-specific RNA-based biomarker panel through bioinformatics analysis based on the integration of DNA damage regulated autophagy modulator 1 (DRAM1) and arylsulfatase A (ARSA) gene expression with their epigenetic regulators microRNA (miR-2053) and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA-RP1-86D1.3). Then, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) validation in sera of 60 MPM patients, 20 chronic asbestos exposure patients, and 20 healthy volunteers was done. Lastly, the prognostic power of the selected panel was assessed.Results: The expression of serum DRAM1 messenger RNA (mRNA), ARSA mRNA, hsa-miR-2053 and lncRNA-RP1-86D1.3 were positive in 78.3%, 90%, 85%, and 83.3% of MPM patients, respectively. The RNA-based biomarker panel was able to discriminate between MPM patients and controls with high accuracy and their combined sensitivity reached 100% for the diagnosis of MPM. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that hsa-miR-2053 is an independent prognostic factor of MPM. Conclusion: Our preliminary data revealed that the chosen RNAs play an important role in driving MPM development and progression.

Background Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most well‐known sort of leukemia in children. In spite of favorable survival rates, some patients relapse and achieve a poor outcome. Methods We analyzed miR‐125b and Bcl‐2 expressions in pediatric patients with ALL and evaluated their clinical utility as molecular markers for the prediction of disease outcomes. Results Downregulation of miR‐125b and increased Bcl‐2 expression levels in pediatric patients with ALL were associated with poor prognosis at diagnosis. At day 28 of induction, miR‐125b was significantly increased, whereas Bcl‐2 was downregulated. Loss of miR‐125b during diagnosis and its elevation after therapy are strongly correlated with short leukemia‐free survival and worse survival. Moreover, the combination of miR‐125b with Bcl‐2 markers can clearly enhance the prediction of the disease outcome. Finally, a univariate analysis highlighted the independent prognostic value of miR‐125 in a pediatric patient with ALL. Conclusions miR‐125b and Bcl‐2 together are potent predictors for the prognosis and, therefore, can be used as therapeutic targets in childhood ALL.

Background Lnc‐IRF2‐3 and Lnc‐ZNF667‐AS1 were recently studied as a positive biomarker for many tumor cells. However, experimental studies found that they are associated with worse outcomes in B‐CLL. Methods A prospective case study was conducted on 135 B‐CLL patients that were compared to thirty healthy controls. The patients were followed up for 40 months and quantitative measurements of Lnc‐IRF2‐3 and Lnc‐ZNF667‐AS1 were measured and compared between the two groups as well as high‐risk and low low‐risk B‐CLL. Results Lnc‐IRF2‐3 and Lnc‐ZNF667‐AS1 had a high specificity (94% and 85%) and sensitivity (85%, 87%), respectively, to differentiate B‐CLL from healthy controls. Furthermore, they showed high expression levels in high‐risk CLL groups. For survival analysis, there was a negative correlation between overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS) and both biomarkers. However, it was not evident in multivariate Cox regression analysis; in patients with Lnc‐IRF2‐3 expression level, >67 had a significant decrease in OS and PFS. However, there is no significant effect for high expression levels of Lnc‐ZNF667‐AS1 on OS (P = .16) or PFS (P = .48). Conclusion The Lnc‐IRF2‐3 and Lnc‐ZNF667‐AS1 are promising prognostic biomarkers in B‐CLL.