Detailed Abstract
[Poster Presentation 4 - Biliary & Pancreas (Pancreas Disease/Surgery)]
[PP 4-1] PLASMA CELL-FREE RNA ANALYSIS HIGHLIGHTS KEY MOLECULAR CHANGES IN EARLY- AND ADVANCED-STAGE PANCREATIC CANCER
Hyeong Seok KIM 1, Young-Jun JEON 2, In Woong HAN 1
1 Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea, 2 Integrative Biotechnology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea
Background : Cell-free RNA (cfRNA) analysis from plasma offers a unique window into the molecular alterations associated with pancreatic cancer. This study aimed to compare cfRNA profiles between pancreatic cancer patients and healthy controls to identify disease-specific RNA expression changes.
Methods : Plasma cfRNA was extracted from 34 pancreatic cancer patients and 8 healthy controls. Patients were classified into early-stage (n = 12; IA, IB, IIA) and advanced-stage (n = 22; IIB, III) groups. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using thresholds of FDR < 0.05 and |Log2FC| > 0.5. Functional enrichment analyses were performed using Gene Ontology (GO), Reactome, and KEGG databases.
Results : In advanced-stage patients, 78 upregulated and 782 downregulated DEGs were identified compared to controls. Suppressed pathways included immune response (FDR < 0.001) and stimulus response (FDR < 0.001), with neutrophil degranulation notably downregulated (FDR < 0.005). Early-stage patients exhibited similar trends, with most DEGs overlapping those in the advanced stage. GO analysis highlighted significant enrichment in olfactory transduction (FDR < 0.01) and GPCR signaling (FDR < 0.01), while KEGG and Reactome analyses revealed neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction as an upregulated pathway (FDR < 0.01). Single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA) demonstrated downregulation of pancreatic progenitor cell-related genes (p = 0.002) and mild upregulation of α-cell genes (p = 0.04).
Conclusions : This study identifies immune suppression, GPCR and olfactory signaling, and cell-type-specific cfRNA alterations as key features of pancreatic cancer. These findings provide a basis for developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, warranting further validation.
Methods : Plasma cfRNA was extracted from 34 pancreatic cancer patients and 8 healthy controls. Patients were classified into early-stage (n = 12; IA, IB, IIA) and advanced-stage (n = 22; IIB, III) groups. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using thresholds of FDR < 0.05 and |Log2FC| > 0.5. Functional enrichment analyses were performed using Gene Ontology (GO), Reactome, and KEGG databases.
Results : In advanced-stage patients, 78 upregulated and 782 downregulated DEGs were identified compared to controls. Suppressed pathways included immune response (FDR < 0.001) and stimulus response (FDR < 0.001), with neutrophil degranulation notably downregulated (FDR < 0.005). Early-stage patients exhibited similar trends, with most DEGs overlapping those in the advanced stage. GO analysis highlighted significant enrichment in olfactory transduction (FDR < 0.01) and GPCR signaling (FDR < 0.01), while KEGG and Reactome analyses revealed neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction as an upregulated pathway (FDR < 0.01). Single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA) demonstrated downregulation of pancreatic progenitor cell-related genes (p = 0.002) and mild upregulation of α-cell genes (p = 0.04).
Conclusions : This study identifies immune suppression, GPCR and olfactory signaling, and cell-type-specific cfRNA alterations as key features of pancreatic cancer. These findings provide a basis for developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, warranting further validation.
SESSION
Poster Presentation 4
Exhibition Hall 3/27/2025 2:50 PM - 3:30 PM