Plenary Session
AB100. SOH26AB_0354. Does systemic multimorbidity affect colorectal tumour microRNA expression?
Thomas Butler1, Matthew Davey1, Gerard Feeney1, Heidi Annuk1, Maxwell Paganga2, Eoin Patrick Kerin1, Luis Bouz Mkabaah1, Emma Holian2, Aoife Lowery1, Aisling Hogan1, Michael Kerin1, Nicola Miller1
1Department of Surgery, The Lambe Institute for Translational Research, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland;
2School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
Background: Comorbidities are increasingly common among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and are associated with poorer survival and increased treatment-related complications. The effects of comorbidities on epigenetic regulation of CRC tumour tissue are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between the presence of clinically significant comorbidities and the expression of six oncogenic microRNAs (miRNAs) in CRC tumour tissue.
Methods: MiRNAs were quantified previously using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction from 42 patients. Comorbidity information for each patient was collected by a comprehensive retrospective chart review and quantified using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). CCI was dichotomised to identify patients who had clinically significant comorbidities. Independent samples t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.
Results: A total of 42 patients were included with a mean age of 68.5±1.7 years, and 30 (71.4%) patients were male. Twenty-six (61.9%) patients had CCI =0, and 16 (38.1%) had CCI ≥1 (6 with CCI =1, 9 with CCI =2, and 1 with CCI =4). There was no difference in the tumour tissue expression of miR-21, miR-195, miR-31, miR-135b, miR-150, or miR-155 in patients with clinically significant comorbidities compared to those with no comorbidities (P=0.9, P=0.528, P=0.9, P=0.5, P=0.3, P=0.6, P=0.6, respectively). Similarly, there were no differences in tumour-associated normal tissue miRNA expression.
Conclusions: The presence of clinically significant comorbidities did not alter the tumour expression of six oncogenic miRNAs. Future studies should investigate how comorbidities affect circulating miRNAs, which may reflect systemic rather than localised disease processes.
Keywords: Colorectal cancer (CRC); comorbidity; epigenetics; microRNA (miRNA); precision oncology
Acknowledgments
None.
Funding: None.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
doi: 10.21037/map-26-ab100
Cite this abstract as: Butler T, Davey M, Feeney G, Annuk H, Paganga M, Kerin EP, Mkabaah LB, Holian E, Lowery A, Hogan A, Kerin M, Miller N. AB100. SOH26AB_0354. Does systemic multimorbidity affect colorectal tumour microRNA expression? Mesentery Peritoneum 2026;10:AB100.
