Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12(3), 2055-2063; doi:10.3390/ijms12032055
Review

Circulating MicroRNAs: Potential Biomarkers for Cancer

De-Cai Yu 1,2 email, Qing-Guo Li 1 email, Xi-Wei Ding 1 email and Yi-Tao Ding 1,2,* email
1 Institute of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China 2 Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 21 December 2010; in revised form: 10 February 2011 / Accepted: 10 March 2011 / Published: 22 March 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Molecular Diagnostics)
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Abstract: Cancer is the leading cause of death in the world. Development of minimally invasive biomarkers for early detection of cancer is urgently needed to reduce high morbidity and mortality associated with malignancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that modulate the activity of specific mRNA targets and play important roles in a wide range of physiologic and pathologic processes. Recently, miRNAs were found to be dysregulated in a variety of diseases including cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that miRNAs are involved in tumor initiation and progression. Together, the different expression profiles of miRNAs in cancer, and the stability of circulating miRNAs, make them new potentially clinical biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, classification, therapeutic decisions, and prognosis.
Keywords: circulation; microrna; neoplasm; biomarkers

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Yu, D.-C.; Li, Q.-G.; Ding, X.-W.; Ding, Y.-T. Circulating MicroRNAs: Potential Biomarkers for Cancer. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12, 2055-2063.

AMA Style

Yu D-C, Li Q-G, Ding X-W, Ding Y-T. Circulating MicroRNAs: Potential Biomarkers for Cancer. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2011; 12(3):2055-2063.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yu, De-Cai; Li, Qing-Guo; Ding, Xi-Wei; Ding, Yi-Tao. 2011. "Circulating MicroRNAs: Potential Biomarkers for Cancer." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 12, no. 3: 2055-2063.

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