MicroRNAs: Clinical Relevance in Colorectal Cancer

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Joe Thomas¹  Masahisa Ohtsuka¹  Martin Pichler¹  Hui Ling¹ 

[1] Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77054, USA;

关键词: colorectal cancer;    miRNA;    pathophysiology;    diagnosis;    prognosis;    treatment;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms161226080

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancer diagnoses and causes of mortality worldwide. MicroRNAs are a class of small, non-coding regulatory RNAs that have shown strong associations with colorectal cancer. Through the repression of target messenger RNAs, microRNAs modulate many cellular pathways, such as those involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation. The utilization of microRNAs has shown significant promise in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer, owing to their unique expression profile associations with cancer types and malignancies. Moreover, microRNA therapeutics with mimics or antagonists show great promise in preclinical studies, which encourages further development of their clinical use for colorectal cancer patients. The unique ability of microRNAs to affect multiple downstream pathways represents a novel approach for cancer therapy. Although still early in its development, we believe that microRNAs can be used in the near future as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for colorectal cancer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.