Micromarkers 2.0: an update on the role of microRNAs in cancer diagnosis and prognosis

Abstract

The identification of reliable diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers is one of the most pressing goals in oncological research. MicroRNAs have proven to be very promising cancer biomarkers because they are resistant to degradation in many tissue types (including FFPE specimens and body fluids), easily measured and, most importantly, their amount correlates with the presence of the tumor or with clinically relevant cancer features. In addition, our knowledge of microRNA genetic alterations in familial and sporadic cancer has recently improved. This review presents an update on cancer diagnostic and prognostic microRNAs, discusses novel tools for prognostic microRNAs identification and evaluates the possible translation of these discoveries to the clinic.

Keywords:

• cancer
• circulating miRNAs
• diagnosis
• microRNA
• miRNA genetics
• prognosis
• TCGA portal

Financial & competing interests disclosure

M Ferracin is supported by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (MFAG 11676). M Negrini is supported by the Special Program Molecular Clinical Oncology - 5 per mille n. 9980, 2010/15 and the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Research FIRB 2011 (Project RBAPIIBYNP) and University of Ferrara (FAR 2012–14). 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.

Key issues

• Cancers show a deregulated miRNA expression.

• Cancer miRNA expression profiles reflect the bio-pathological features of the tumor.

• The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project provides a great amount of standardized miRNA expression data with matched clinically relevant information.

• Novel genetic alterations (mutations, SNPs, CNVs) in miRNA genes or in miRNA-binding sites, discovered in human cancer.

• The potential to obtain diagnostic or prognostic information from easily assessable biofluids (serum, plasma, urine...) exists.

• Circulating miRNA procedures still need to be standardized, and it is necessary to develop standardized high-quality methodologies for cell-free miRNA assessment.

• It is necessary for clinical trials to be completed to validate potential miRNA biomarkers.