Start Up Unit, Department of Experimental Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milano, Italy.
EMBO Mol Med. 2012 Mar;4(3):143-59. doi: 10.1002/emmm.201100209. Epub 2012 Feb 20.
Early studies have shown how aberrantly expressed microRNAs are a hallmark of several diseases like cancer. MicroRNA expression profiling was shown to be associated with tumour development, progression and response to therapy, suggesting their possible use as diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Moreover, based on the increasing number of studies demonstrating that microRNAs can function as potential oncogenes or oncosuppressor genes, with the goal to improve disease response and increase cure rates, miRNA-based anticancer therapies have recently been exploited, either alone or in combination with current targeted therapies. The advantage of using microRNA approaches is based on its ability to concurrently target multiple effectors of pathways involved in cell differentiation, proliferation and survival. Here, we review our current knowledge about the involvement of microRNAs in cancer, and their potential as diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic tools.
早期研究表明，异常表达的 microRNAs 是多种疾病（如癌症）的一个标志。microRNA 表达谱分析显示与肿瘤的发生、发展和对治疗的反应有关，这表明它们可能作为诊断、预后和预测生物标志物。此外，越来越多的研究表明 microRNAs 可以作为潜在的癌基因或抑癌基因发挥作用，目的是改善疾病反应并提高治愈率，最近已经利用基于 microRNA 的抗癌疗法，单独或与当前的靶向治疗联合使用。使用 microRNA 方法的优势在于其能够同时针对细胞分化、增殖和存活途径中涉及的多个效应物。在这里，我们回顾了我们目前对 microRNAs 参与癌症及其作为诊断、预后和治疗工具的潜力的认识。
