Detection of tumor-specific mRNA in cell-free bronchial lavage supernatant in patients with lung cancer

Bronchoscopy is a standard procedure in the workup of patients with suspicious pulmonary lesions. We wondered whether it is possible to isolate malignancy-associated mRNA from cell-free lavage supernatant. Extracellular mRNA from cell-free lavage supernatant of 25 patients with lung cancer (23 with non-small cell lung cancer, 2 with small cell lung cancer) was isolated, reverse-transcribed, and amplified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The quantity and quality of the isolated RNA were checked after cDNA synthesis by amplification with P-actin-specific primers. Afterwards, a panel of eight genes known to be expressed in lung tumors was used for the detection of tumor-associated mRNA expression in lavage supernatant and serum. mRNA coding for P-actin could be isolated from lavage supernatant of all 25 patients. In addition, the expression of at least one tumor-associated gene was detectable in all patients. These results show that intact mRNA can be isolated from cell-free lavage supernatant and that its quantity and quality are sufficient for the detection of tumor-associated gene expression alterations. This may open new possibilities for the diagnosis of lung cancer.