miRNA Pharmacogenomics: The New Frontier for Personalized Medicine in Cancer?

Abstract

In recent years pharmacogenomic research has highlighted several genetic biomarkers of treatment toxicity and efficacy, dealing with drug metabolism, transport and mechanism of action. More recently, polymorphisms in miRNA encoding genes, their targets or factors involved in their maturation are rising as new pharmacogenomic markers in cancer. miRNAs are brief ncRNAs involved in DNA translational control, with an effect on mRNA and protein-expression levels. The study of genetic polymorphisms in genes involved in miRNA translational control machinery could give innovative insights in pharmacogenomics. This review summarizes the most recent and promising results in the field and gives an overview of the future perspective of personalized cancer therapy.

KEYWORDS::

• cancer
• miRNA
• pharmacogenomics
• polymorphisms
• therapy

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors thank ‘Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC), Special Program Molecular Clinical Oncology, 5x1000, (No. 12214), European Research Council, Programme ‘ideas‘, Proposal No 269051‘ Italian Ministry of Education MIUR (FIRB prot. RBAP11ETKA). 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.

Writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript. The authors thank A Davino for her writing assistance, which was funded by the AIRC Foundation.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank ‘Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC), Special Program Molecular Clinical Oncology, 5x1000, (No. 12214), European Research Council, Programme ‘ideas‘, Proposal No 269051‘ Italian Ministry of Education MIUR (FIRB prot. RBAP11ETKA). 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. Writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript. The authors thank A Davino for her writing assistance, which was funded by the AIRC Foundation.