Micro-RNAs as clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets in breast cancer: Quo vadis?

ABSTRACT: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent type of non skin cancer among women and a major leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Western countries. It is substantial to discover novel biomarkers with diagnostic, prognostic or predictive usefulness as well as therapeutic value for BC. Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) belong to a novel class of endogenous interfering RNAs that play a crucial role in post transcriptional gene silencing through mRNA targeting and, thus, are involved in many biological processes encompassing apoptosis, cell-cycle control, cell proliferation, DNA repair, immunity, metabolism, stress, aging, etc. MiRNAs exert their action mainly in a tumor suppressive or oncogenic manner. The specific aberrant expression patterns of miRNAs in BC that are detected with the use of high-through

SUBMITTER: Christodoulatos GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4014798 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature