Identification of serum microRNA profiles in colon cancer

Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) exist in blood in an apparently stable form. We have explored whether serum miRNAs can be used as non-invasive early biomarkers of colon cancer. Methods: Serum samples from 30 patients with colon cancer stage IV and 10 healthy controls were examined for the expression of 375 cancer-relevant miRNAs. Based on the miRNA profile in this study, 34 selected miRNAs were measured in serum from 40 patients with stage I–II colon cancer and from 10 additional controls. Results: Twenty miRNAs were differentially expressed in serum from stage IV patients compared with controls (P