A Prospective Pilot Study of Urine microRNA as a Biomarker of Urinary Toxicity Following MRI-Guided Prostate Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

There is a need for biomarkers that can predict the risk of urinary toxicity following treatment using MRI guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (MR-SBRT) to assist with selection of the most appropriate radiotherapy treatment approach and to potentially provide early intervention for toxicities. Many studies demonstrated the applicability of miRNA from bodily fluids as biomarkers; thus, we decided to check if urine-derived miRNA can serve as radiation toxicity predictors.

Both sequencing and confirmatory targeted qPCR showed that expressions of miR-26a-5p and miR-95-3p decrease during MR-SBRT and begin to increase during early follow up. Levels of miR-204-3p and miR-192-5p behave differently in patients with and without urinary toxicity. Expression of miR-375-3p is lower in patients with higher risk category at all timepoints and tends to drop during and after MR-SBRT, especially in patients with lower risk category.