Circulating microRNAs as a liquid biopsy: a next-generation clinical biomarker for diagnosis of gastric cancer

Abstract

Accumulating evidence has suggested the potential clinical utility of novel body fluid biomarkers, or "liquid biopsy", using circulating tumor cells and cell-free nucleic acids from cancer patients. Noninvasive and reproducible, liquid biopsy could provide the basis for individualized therapeutic strategies by identifying genetic and epigenetic aberrations that are closely associated with cancer initiation and progression. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression. They also play important roles in various physiological and developmental processes as oncogenic or tumor-suppressive regulators. Specific miRNA expression signatures have been identified in a number of human cancers. Circulating miRNAs have been detected in plasma and serum, and this in blood has attracted the attention of researchers for their potential as noninvasive biomarkers. Circulating miRNAs have emerged as tumorassociated biomarkers that reflect not only the existence of cancer, but also the dynamics, malignant potential, and drug resistance of tumors. Herein, we review the recent biological and clinical research on the circulating miRNAs of gastric cancer and discuss future perspectives for their clinical applications as a liquid biopsy.

Liquid Biopsy as a Tool for Differentiation of Leiomyomas and Sarcomas of Corpus Uteri

“…In conclusion, there are no currently known LB biomarkers that can be used for early and noninvasive distinction between particular UMT types. However, (1) there are recorded nucleic acid molecules released from both benign and malignant variants into the bloodstream [89,90,91,92]; (2) many molecular biomarkers reported in solid UMT have been noted in LB samples in different cancer types and these can be used for early diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic outcomes [93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102]; and (3) it is presumed that abnormal patterns in solid tumors should remain the same in CNA [35,36,37,38,39,67,73,74,75]. On the basis of these facts, we can state that it is theoretically possible, and highly likely in practice, to distinguish clinically between UMT types using the LB approach when appropriate molecular markers are employed.…”

“…Moreover, many of the biomarkers of solid UMT described below have previously been reported in LB from patients with different cancer diseases and these provide the possibility of early diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic outcome. These include the identical microRNAs [93,94,95,96,97], methylation changes [95,98,99], mutational changes [100,101,102], and even similar chromosomal rearrangements [103,104,105,106]. We, therefore, suggest a way to identify LB biomarkers suitable for UMT differentiation by searching for abnormal patterns already established in solid UMT in LB samples.…”

“…* These were reported and analysed in LB samples in patients with different cancer diseases [93,94,95,96,97]; ULM—uterine leiomyomas, MM—healthy myometrium, LMS—uterine leiomyosarcomas.…”

Role of regulatory miRNAs of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…A growing body of evidence suggests that miRNAs can be used as diagnostic biomarkers for several human malignancies including breast, lung, and gastric cancers (Bahrami et al, 2018;Komatsu, Kiuchi, Imamura, Ichikawa, & Otsuji, 2018;Yu, Guan, Cuk, Brenner, & Zhang, 2018). It has been reported that miRNAs can T A B L E 1 Oncogenic miRNAs regulate the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma through targeting the specific components of the PI3K/ AKT/mTOR signaling axis…”

Introduction to the special issue on reviews of gastric cancer metastasis and treatment

“…MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. Komatsu et al [4] reviewed the recent biological and clinical research on the circulating miRNAs of gastric cancer and discussed the future perspectives.…”