Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Curr Drug Targets. 2013 Sep;14(10):1101-9. doi: 10.2174/13894501113149990181.
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths in the U.S., with a less than 6% five-year survival rate. Treatment is confounded by advanced stage of disease at presentation, frequent metastasis to distant organs at the time of diagnosis and resistance to conventional chemotherapy. In addition, the molecular pathogenesis of the disease is unclear. The extensive study of miRNAs over the past several years has revealed that miRNAs are frequently de-regulated in pancreatic cancer and contribute to the pathogenesis and aggressiveness of the disease. Several studies have tackled the practical difficulties in the application of miRNAs as viable therapeutic and diagnostic tools. Given that a single miRNA can affect a myriad of cellular processes, successful targeting of miRNAs as therapeutic agents could likely yield dramatic results. The current review attempts to summarize the advances in the field and assesses the prospects for miRNA profiling and targeting in aiding PC treatment.
胰腺癌（PC）是美国第四大致癌相关死亡原因，五年生存率低于 6%。治疗受到以下因素的阻碍：疾病在出现时已处于晚期，在诊断时经常发生远处器官转移，以及对常规化疗的耐药性。此外，该疾病的分子发病机制尚不清楚。过去几年对 miRNAs 的广泛研究表明，miRNAs 在胰腺癌中经常失调，导致疾病的发病机制和侵袭性。一些研究已经解决了将 miRNAs 作为可行的治疗和诊断工具应用的实际困难。鉴于单个 miRNA 可以影响众多细胞过程，成功靶向 miRNAs 作为治疗剂可能会产生显著效果。本综述试图总结该领域的进展，并评估 miRNA 谱分析和靶向治疗在辅助 PC 治疗中的前景。
