Gasparri Maria Luisa, Casorelli Assunta, Bardhi Erlisa, Besharat Aris Raad, Savone Delia, Ruscito Ilary, Farooqi Ammad Ahmad, Papadia Andrea, Mueller Michael David, Ferretti Elisabetta, Benedetti Panici Pierluigi
1 Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Urology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Berne, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland.
Tumour Biol. 2017 May;39(5):1010428317695525. doi: 10.1177/1010428317695525.
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide, and ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy. Women carrying a BRCA1/2 mutation have a very high lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. The only effective risk-reducing strategy in BRCA-mutated women is a prophylactic surgery with bilateral mastectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. However, many women are reluctant to undergo these prophylactic surgeries due to a consequent mutilated body perception, unfulfilled family planning, and precocious menopause. In these patients, an effective screening strategy is available only for breast cancer, but it only consists in close radiological exams with a significant burden for the health system and a significant distress to the patients. No biomarkers have been shown to effectively detect breast and ovarian cancer at an early stage. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulatory molecules operating in a post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Aberrant expression of miRNAs has been documented in several pathological conditions, including solid tumors, suggesting their involvement in tumorigenesis. miRNAs can be detected in blood and urine and could be used as biomarkers in solid tumors. Encouraging results are emerging in gynecological malignancy as well, and suggest a different pattern of expression of miRNAs in biological fluids of breast and ovarian cancer patients as compared to healthy control. Aim of this study is to highlight the role of the urinary miRNAs which are specifically associated with cancer and to investigate their role in early diagnosis and in determining the prognosis in breast and ovarian cancer.
乳腺癌是全球女性中最常见的恶性肿瘤，而卵巢癌是最致命的妇科恶性肿瘤。携带BRCA1/2突变的女性一生中患乳腺癌和卵巢癌的风险非常高。对于BRCA突变的女性，唯一有效的降低风险策略是进行双侧乳房切除术和双侧输卵管卵巢切除术的预防性手术。然而，许多女性由于术后身体形象受损、计划生育未实现以及过早绝经等原因，不愿接受这些预防性手术。在这些患者中，仅有一种针对乳腺癌的有效筛查策略，但它仅包括密切的影像学检查，这对卫生系统造成了巨大负担，也给患者带来了极大困扰。目前尚未发现有生物标志物能够有效早期检测乳腺癌和卵巢癌。微小RNA（miRNA）是在基因表达的转录后调控中起作用的关键调节分子。在包括实体瘤在内的几种病理状况下，均已记录到miRNA的异常表达，这表明它们参与了肿瘤发生过程。miRNA可以在血液和尿液中检测到，并且可以用作实体瘤的生物标志物。在妇科恶性肿瘤方面也出现了令人鼓舞的结果，这表明与健康对照相比，乳腺癌和卵巢癌患者生物体液中miRNA的表达模式有所不同。本研究的目的是突出与癌症特异性相关的尿液miRNA的作用，并研究它们在乳腺癌和卵巢癌早期诊断及预后判定中的作用。
