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ABSTRACT
Introduction: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the second most common and the most lethal of the gynecological malignancies. Currently, there exists no effective screening tool for OC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous 18–23 nucleotide non-coding RNAs that refine gene expression. MiRNAs have been found to be aberrantly expressed in OC tumor tissue as well as detectable in biological fluids such as the blood, urine, and ascites and have been proposed as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for OC.
Areas covered: This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the application of miRNAs as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers in OC. It describes the various tissues allowing for the analysis of miRNAs such as tumor tissue, blood, ascites and urine. It also highlights the potential of miRNAs as a therapy in other cancers and how these therapies may be applied to ovarian cancer.
Expert opinion: The study of miRNAs is an innovative and promising field for the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. Methodological issues surrounding their detection and application therapeutically remain, such as the study of various OC histotypes within the same cohort, the choice of ‘normal tissue’ for comparison and the difficulties surrounding the choice of a normalization miRNA.
Article Highlights
MicroRNAs are widely deregulated in ovarian carcinoma.
MiRNAs are promising diagnostic and prognostic markers for EOC as well as possible predictive markers of drug response.
Current studies of miRNA in EOC employ heterogeneous methods making the generalizability of results difficult.
Key challenges remain to be overcome before translating miRNA into clinical practice.
There is great potential for the application of miRNA in the treatment of EOC in the era of precision medicine.
This box summarizes key points contained in the article
Declaration of interest
M Vernon is a recipient of a doctoral fellowship from the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.