Circulating MicroRNAs as Biomarkers in Biliary Tract Cancers

Abstract

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are a group of highly aggressive malignant tumors with a poor prognosis. The current diagnosis is based mainly on imaging and intraoperative exploration due to brush cytology havinga low sensitivity and the standard markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate 19-9 (CA19-9), not having enough sensitivity nor specificity to be used in a differential diagnosis and early stage detection. Thus, better non-invasive methods that can distinguish between normal and pathological tissue are needed. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules of ~20–22 nucleotides that regulate relevant physiological mechanisms and can also be involved in carcinogenesis. Recent studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are detectable in multiple body fluids, showing great stability, either free or trapped in circulating microvesicles, such as exosomes. miRNAs are ideal biomarkers that may be used in screening and prognosis in biliary tract cancers, aiding also in the clinical decisions at different stages of cancer treatment. This review highlights the progress in the analysis of circulating miRNAs in serum, plasma and bile as potential diagnostic and prognostic markers of BTCs.

Роль Мікро-Рнк При Захворюваннях Біліарної Системи

“…отиди, що регулюють експресію генів на посттранс-крипційному рівні шляхом РНК-інтерференції [16][17][18][19][20]. За офіційними даними проекту Енцикло-педії елементів ДНК (GENCODE) Консорціуму міжнародного співробітництва дослідницьких груп, на сьогодні відомо 2588 мікро-РНК людини та при-близно 60 % білок-кодуючих генів, що є мішенями для мікро-РНК [21].…”

“…Ре-зультат реалізації дії зрілої мікро-РНК в RISC за-лежить від того, з якою нетрансльованою ділянкою цільової матричної РНК (мРНК) відбувається вза-ємодія (рис. 2) [17,20,27].…”

Gallbladder cancer stem cell markers: An updated brief review

“…DNA-PKcs and Ku70 are tumor suppressors, and loss of DNA-PKcs and Ku70 expression is an important biological marker for metastasis, invasion, and prognosis of GBC [55]. It has been reported that the aberrant nucleoside levels in the plasma, urine, bile, and tissues served as biomarkers in the diagnosis and these nucleosides may be as useful as biological markers for gallbladder cancer [56]. The positive β2M expression or loss of ATP5B expression in tumor tissues is closely related to the metastasis, invasion, and poor-prognosis of gallbladder cancer [57].…”

The Emerging Role of miRNAs and Their Clinical Implication in Biliary Tract Cancer

“…Therefore, circulating miRNAs may be noninvasive and specific diagnostic and/or prognostic molecular biomarkers for human diseases, including cancer [4, 7, 58, 59]. In BTCs, many circulating miRNAs seem to be reproducible and reliable potential biomarkers as well as possible therapeutic targets [60]. Table 2 summarizes the circulating miRNAs with potential diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarker applications in BTCs.…”