Process for predicting the prognosis of squamous cell lung cancer

Abstract

Disclosed in this specification is a method for predicting the prognosis of squamous cell lung cancer by observing regulatory changes in select miRNA sequences. These sequences may include hsa-mir-146b, hsa-mir-191, hsa-mir-206, hsa-mir-299-3p, hsa-mir-155, hsa-mir-15a, hsa-mir-122a, hsa-mir-513, hsa-mir-184, hsa-mir-511, hsa-mir-100, hsa-mir-10a, hsa-mir-453, hsa-mir-379, hsa-mir-202, hsa-mir-21, hsa-mir-126, hsa-mir-494, hsa-mir-432, hsa-mir-370, and combinations of these sequences.

1 . A process for predicting the prognosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma in humans comprising the steps of:
 Determining determining the expression of microRNA having SEQ ID NO. 16; and   predicting a prognosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma if the expression exceeds a predetermined cutoff.   
     
     
         2 . The process as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the step of removing RNA with more than forty nucleotides prior to the step of observing a regulation change. 
     
     
         3 . The process as recited in  claim 1 , wherein an up regulation is observed. 
     
     
         4 . A process for predicting the prognosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma in humans comprising the steps of:
 observing a regulation change of SEQ ID NO. 16 within extracted RNA relative to the same microRNA in a wild type lung tissue sample;   predicting a prognosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma based on the observation.   
     
     
         5 . The process as recited in  claim 4 , further comprising the step of extracting total RNA from a sample of lung tissue. 
     
     
         6 . The process as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the step of observing includes the step of performing a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. 
     
     
         7 . A process for predicting the prognosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma in humans comprising the steps of:
 observing the abundance of SEQ ID NO. 16 within a sample;   predicting a prognosis of squamous cell lung carcinoma based on the observation.   
     
     
         8 . The process as recited in  claim 7 , wherein the step of observing the abundance includes the step of comparing the abundance of SEQ ID NO. 16 from the sample to the abundance of SEQ ID NO. 16 in a wild type sample. 
     
     
         9 . The process as recited in  claim 8  wherein, when the comparison is made, an up regulation in SEQ ID NO. 16 is found. 
     
     
         10 . The process as recited in  claim 9 , wherein, when an up regulation is found, at least a 1.5 fold change is found. 
     
     
         11 . The process as recited in  claim 10 , wherein SEQ ID NO. 16 is the only microRNA observed. 
     
     
         12 . The process as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the step of observing includes the step of performing a quantitative polymerase chain reaction.