Current Status and Future Perspectives about Molecular Biomarkers of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy that shows a remarkable ethnic and geographical distribution. It is one of the major public health problems in some countries, especially Southern China and Southeast Asia, but rare in most Western countries. Multifactorial interactions such as Epstein–Barr virus infection, individual’s genetic susceptibility, as well as environmental and dietary factors may facilitate the pathogenesis of this malignancy. Late presentation and the complex nature of the disease have led it to become a major cause of mortality. Therefore, an effective, sensitive, and specific molecular biomarker is urgently needed for early disease diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of metastasis and recurrence after treatment. In this review, we discuss the recent research status of potential biomarker discovery and the problems that need to be explored further for better NPC management. By studying the aberrant pattern of these candidate biomarkers that promote NPC development and progression, we are able to understand the complexity of this malignancy better, hence positing our stands better towards strategies that may provide a way forward to the discovery of more reliable and specific biomarkers for diagnosis and targeted therapeutic development.

Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Its Microenvironment: Past, Current, and Future Perspectives

“…Plasma EBV-miR-BART7-3p showed 96.1% sensitivity and 96.7% specificity, whereas miR-BART13-3p has a sensitivity of 97.9% and specificity of 96.7% for the detection of NPC. miR-BART7-3p is a potential prognostic biomarker, whereby prominent levels of pre-treatment miR-BART7-3p in plasma indicated a higher risk of distant metastasis whereas post-treatment miR-BART7-3p is associated with short DMFS and OS ( 191 , 192 ). Significant upregulation of miR-1301-3p was detected in the exosomes from early-stage NPC patients’ plasma, indicating their potential application as diagnostic biomarkers in early-stage NPC ( 193 ).…”

Splicing factor derived circular RNA circCAMSAP1 accelerates nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumorigenesis via a SERPINH1/c-Myc positive feedback loop

“…The onset of NPC is hard to detect, so early diagnosis is rare, and NPC has often already progressed into middle or late stage by the time it is detected [ 6 ]. While radiotherapy and chemotherapy can effectively control the growth of local tumors, local recurrence and distant metastasis contribute to the low survival rate of patients with NPC [ 7 ]. Therefore, finding biomarkers for early diagnosis of NPC and exploring the molecular mechanisms of metastasis and proliferation are essential for optimizing clinical treatment strategies.…”

Long non-coding RNA SPRY4-IT1 promotes proliferation and metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell

“…According to the survey of The International Cancer Research Agency, there were approximately 133,354 cases of newly diagnosed NPC, accounting for 0.7% of all cancers; and approximately 80,008 new deaths, accounting for 0.8% of all cancer deaths around the world in 2020 ( Sung et al, 2021 ). It is striking that more than 70% of NPC patients are first diagnosed with NPC at advanced stages (clinical stages III and IV) owing to the lack of early typical symptoms and its aggressive nature ( Siak et al, 2021 ). Currently, radiotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for NPC patients because of the special anatomical location of the nasopharynx and sensitivity to radiation.…”