Distinct non-invasive evaluation values of tumor-derived cell-free microRNAs, circulating microvesicles and exosomal microRNAs after renal carcinoma cryoablation

Highlights: • Circulating components could be used for the non-invasive evaluation of renal tumor cryoablation therapeutic effects. • Different circulating components have distinct roles in the evaluation of renal tumor cryoablation. • Exosomal microRNAs may be more suitable for the early postoperative judgment of tumor elimination effects. The detection of peripheral circulating tumor-derived components, such as cell-free microRNAs, circulating microvesicles, and exosomal microRNAs, has been shown as a promising noninvasive strategy. However, the different roles of these components in tumor therapy evaluations have remained largely undefined. In this paper, we employed an in vivo model of the human clear cell renal cell carcinoma line Caki-1-bearing mice to evaluate the therapeutic effects of cryoablation, which is a new minimally invasive treatment for renal cell carcinoma. At different times after cryoablation, we found that the levels of the cell-free microRNAs miR-122, miR-155 and miR-210 were first increased and then decreased. Additionally, the number of large-sized microvesicles was increased after cryoablation, but the number of small-sized circulating microvesicles did not change. Furthermore, the exosomal microRNAs miR-126–3p, miR-17–5p, and miR-21–3p rapidly decreased one day after cryoablation, an effect that was well correlated with the treatment degree. Therefore, we suggest that these circulating components may have different levels of importance in the evaluation of the efficacy of renal cell cryoablation, furthermore, exosomal microRNAs may be more suitable for the early postoperative judgment of tumor elimination effects, which are worth further exploration in clinical practice.