MicroRNA expression profile in cerebrospinal fluid, as a potential marker of the clinically aggressive variant of vestibular schwannoma

The presented project is a pilot study, before a larger research project planned to be submitted in the future competition of the National Science Center. Its aim will be to assess the differences in the miRNA expression profile of clinically benign and aggressive forms of vestibular nerve sheaths, and the possibility of using these differences as a diagnostic and prognostic tool. The presented project will allow to verify the hypothesis that the miRNA expression profile found in tumor tissues corresponds to the miRNA profile determined in the cerebrospinal fluid obtained from the same patient. In the next stage, in a larger project, this hypothesis will be confirmed in a wider group of patients, the study will also be extended to other study groups: patients diagnosed with type 2 neurofibromatosis, which is characterized by bilateral presence of atrial sheaths, and patients with tumor regrowth after prior radiotherapy treatment (gamma knife). Understanding the miRNA expression profile characteristic of atrial sheaths of various types of growth will allow for the selection of specific types of miRNAs, the expression of which is increased or decreased, for further studies on their function in the development and progression of this type of cancer. This will allow a better understanding of the biology of atrial shielding in the context of new nonsurgical treatments for these tumors. In addition, the identification of specific miRNA profiles in the cerebrospinal fluid collected from patients diagnosed with atrial bronchiectasis may contribute to the development of a diagnostic method to assess the risk of rapid tumor progression, without the need for a surgical biopsy.