A Noninvasive and Screening miRNA Signature for Gastrointestinal Cancer (MiGIC)

City of Hope

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Gastric Cancer (GC); Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC); Cholangiocarcinoma; Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC); Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC); Colorectal Cancer Screening

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07224750

23228/MiGIC

Details and patient eligibility

About

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers remain a major global health burden, largely due to the lack of effective and accessible early screening strategies. Current diagnostic approaches-including endoscopy, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-are either invasive, resource-intensive, or insufficiently sensitive for detecting early-stage disease, and are therefore not suitable for population-wide screening or for simultaneously identifying multiple GI tumor types. As a result, many patients are diagnosed at advanced stages, when therapeutic options are limited and prognosis is poor.

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) offer a promising alternative, as they are stable in peripheral blood and reflect tumor-related molecular alterations. In this study, the investigators aim to develop and validate a robust, noninvasive miRNA-based signature capable of distinguishing GI cancers from non-malignant controls. By integrating multi-cohort datasets and applying machine learning-based feature selection and predictive modeling, the investigators will construct a screening panel optimized for reproducibility, scalability, and early-stage detection. This noninvasive miRNA signature has the potential to support accessible, cost-effective, and clinically practical population-level screening for GI cancers, ultimately facilitating earlier diagnosis and improving outcomes for participants.

Full description

This study will establish a comprehensive, retrospective, international multi-center cohort consisting of peripheral blood samples from participants with major gastrointestinal cancers-including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), gastric cancer (GC), and colorectal cancer (CRC)-as well as non-malignant controls. Small RNA sequencing will be performed to generate high-resolution circulating miRNA expression profiles.

During the discovery phase, the investigators will conduct rigorous preprocessing, normalization, batch effect correction, and differential expression analyses to identify circulating miRNAs associated with malignant transformation across GI cancer types. Machine learning-based feature selection (e.g., LASSO, mRMR, ensemble methods) and classifier development (e.g., SVM, Random Forest, XGBoost) will then be used to derive a minimal yet robust miRNA panel capable of optimally distinguishing cancer from non-cancer.

During the modeling and evaluation phase, the identified miRNA signature will undergo multi-center training and validation across international cohorts to ensure robustness across geographic regions, sequencing platforms, and clinical demographics. Beyond binary classification, the investigators will assess the panel's ability to discriminate among specific GI cancer subtypes, thereby supporting differential diagnosis and tumor-origin inference. Model performance will be evaluated using AUROC, sensitivity at clinically meaningful specificity thresholds, early-stage detection capability, and calibration in independent validation cohorts.

Through this sequential discovery → modeling → multi-center validation framework, the investigators aim to develop a noninvasive circulating miRNA panel that (1) accurately distinguishes cancer from non-cancer individuals and (2) differentiates among multiple gastrointestinal cancer types, thereby providing a clinically scalable solution for early cancer detection and population-level screening.

Enrollment: 1,000 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Adults aged 18 years or older at the time of blood sample collection.
2. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of one of the following gastrointestinal cancers: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), Gastric cancer (GC), Colorectal cancer (CRC), Non-cancer control participants, including healthy volunteers or patients with benign gastrointestinal conditions.
3. Availability of retrospective blood samples collected according to institutional protocols.
4. Willingness to allow use of de-identified clinical and demographic data for research purposes.

Exclusion criteria

• other active malignancies; insufficient sample quality/volume; recent chemotherapy/radiotherapy/surgery; any condition preventing reliable participation.

Trial design

1,000 participants in 7 patient groups

Hepatocellular Carcinoma cohort

Description:

Patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) confirmed by clinical, imaging, and/or histopathological criteria. Blood samples collected retrospectively from multiple international centers.

Cholangiocarcinoma cohort

Description:

Patients diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), including intrahepatic and extrahepatic subtypes, confirmed clinically and/or histopathologically. Blood samples collected retrospectively from multiple international centers.

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma cohort

Description:

Patients diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), confirmed by standard diagnostic criteria. Samples collected from multiple international centers.

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma cohort

Description:

Patients diagnosed with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Blood samples collected retrospectively from international collaborating centers.

Gastric Cancer cohort

Description:

Patients diagnosed with gastric cancer (GC), confirmed clinically and/or histopathologically. Samples collected from multiple international centers.

Colorectal Cancer cohort

Description:

Patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC), confirmed by standard diagnostic methods. Blood samples collected retrospectively from multiple international centers.

Non-cancer / Healthy control group

Description:

Non-cancer individuals, including healthy volunteers and patients with benign gastrointestinal conditions. Blood samples collected from international centers and matched for age and sex where possible.