MiR-596 down regulates SOX4 expression and is a potential novel biomarker for gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies of the human digestive tract, with a poor prognosis and a five-year survival rate of 20–40% (1). Currently, patients with early-stage GC receive effective treatments with curative clinical outcomes, whereas patients with moderateor late-stage GC lack effective forms of treatment (2,3). Thus, it is essential to determine novel GC biomarkers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of single stranded noncoding RNAs, consisting of 19–25 nucleotides (4). These molecules play critical biological roles in human pathological and physiological processes, through a range of molecular mechanisms (5,6). Also, aberrant miRNA expression leads to a variety of diseases such as Research Highlights