Overview of MicroRNAs as Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers for High-Incidence Cancers in 2021

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) about 22 nucleotides in size, which play an important role in gene regulation and are involved in almost all major cellular physiological processes. In recent years, the abnormal expression of miRNAs has been shown to be associated with human diseases including cancer. In the past ten years, the link between miRNAs and various cancers has been extensively studied, and the abnormal expression of miRNAs has been reported in various malignant tumors, such as lung cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Due to the high malignancy grade of these cancers, it is more necessary to develop the related diagnostic and prognostic methods. According to the study of miRNAs, many potential cancer biomarkers have been proposed for the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases, especially cancer, thus providing a new theoretical basis and perspective for cancer screening. The use of miRNAs as biomarkers for diagnosis or prognosis of cancer has the advantages of being less invasive to patients, with better accuracy and lower price. In view of the important clinical significance of miRNAs in human cancer research, this article reviewed the research status of miRNAs in the above-mentioned cancers in 2021, especially in terms of diagnosis and prognosis, and provided some new perspectives and theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

MicroRNA as a promising molecular biomarker in the diagnosis of breast cancer

“…Breast ultrasound is used as an auxiliary exam, but it depends on equipment, subjective interpretation and can lead to false positives ( Majid et al, 2003 ). Additionally, other imaging-based approaches, including X-rays, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, are associated with an increased frequency of highly invasive biopsies to determine the malignant or benign nature of the tumor ( Zhang et al, 2022 ). Furthermore, some lesions can be highly variable with a probability of malignancy ranging from 3% to 95%, causing patients with benign lesions to undergo invasive examinations and, in some cases, surgery as the method of first choice, unnecessarily ( Giussani et al, 2021 ).…”

MicroRNA-510 mediated negative regulation of Caveolin-1 in fibroblasts promotes aggressive tumor growth

“…The clinical significance of Cav1 stromal loss and its associated prognostic value in breast cancer has been known for some time and yet the mechanism of its loss remains unknown. Although there are multiple studies that have demonstrated the role of miRNAs in breast cancer and both their diagnostic and prognostic value ( 18 ), there are few linking the expression of a miRNA-mediated mechanism of Cav1 loss ( 19 , 20 ) and none that address the loss of Cav1 in the stromal compartment.…”

Enhancing clinical potential of liquid biopsy through a multi-omic approach: A systematic review

“…Over time, it became clear that direct analysis of circulating RNAs could help better understand the evolutionary dynamics of cancer, by providing useful insights for developing personalized approaches for tumor diagnosis and therapy ( Supplitt et al, 2021 ). Several studies demonstrate that miRNAs alone or in combination with other biomarkers improve the diagnostic and prognostic power of different tumors ( Chan et al, 2013 ; Hou et al, 2016 ; Roman-Canal et al, 2019 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). An interesting study performed cell-free RNA and exosome-RNA analysis on 44 early-stage PDAC patients, identifying 13 upregulated miRNA in PDAC patients compared to healthy controls.…”