Analysis of U2 small nuclear RNA fragments in the bile differentiates cholangiocarcinoma from primary sclerosing cholangitis and other benign biliary disorders.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Up to now the diagnosis of early stage cholangiocarcinoma (CC) has remained difficult, with low sensitivities reported for current diagnostic methods. Based on recent promising findings about circulating U2 small nuclear RNA fragments (RNU2-1f) as novel blood-based biomarkers for pancreatic and colorectal adenocarcinoma, we studied the utility of RNU2-1f as a diagnostic marker of CC in bile fluid.

METHODS: Bile fluid was collected from patients with CC (n = 12), controls (patients with choledocholithiasis) (n = 11) and with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC; n = 11). RNU2-1f levels were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction normalized to cel-54.

RESULTS: Measurement of RNU2-1f levels in bile fluids enabled the differentiation of patients with CC from controls in all cases. Furthermore, RNU2-1f levels in bile fluids of patients with CC were significantly higher than in patients with PSC, resulting in a receiver-operating characteristic curve area of 0.856, with sensitivity of 67 % and specificity of 91 %.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the measurement of RNU2-1 fragments detected in the bile fluid can be used as a diagnostic marker for CC and should be included in future prospective diagnostic studies for this disease entity.