Open AccessMicroRNAs as potential biomarkers for gastric cancer
Author(s) -
Hanshao Liu,
Huasheng Xiao
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.v20.i34.12007
Subject(s) - microrna , cancer , biomarker , carcinogenesis , metastasis , cancer biomarkers , disease , stage (stratigraphy) , diagnostic biomarker , medicine , oncology , bioinformatics , cancer research , biology , gene , genetics , paleontology
Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the world and the second leading cause of cancer-related death. More than 80% of diagnoses occur at the middle to late stage of the disease, highlighting an urgent need for novel biomarkers detectable at earlier stages. Recently, aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) have received a great deal of attention as potential sensitive and accurate biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. This review summarizes the current knowledge about potential miRNA biomarkers for gastric cancer that have been reported in the publicly available literature between 2008 and 2013. Available evidence indicates that aberrantly expressed miRNAs in gastric cancer correlate with tumorigenesis, tumor proliferation, distant metastasis and invasion. Furthermore, tissue and cancer types can be classified using miRNA expression profiles and next-generation sequencing. As miRNAs in plasma/serum are well protected from RNases, they remain stable under harsh conditions. Thus, potential functions of these circulating miRNAs can be deduced and may implicate their diagnostic value in cancer detection. Circulating miRNAs, as well as tissue miRNAs, may allow for the detection of gastric cancer at an early stage, prediction of prognosis, and monitoring of recurrence and/or lymph node metastasis. Taken together, the data suggest that the participation of miRNAs in biomarker development will enhance the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic and prognostic tests for gastric cancer.