MicroRNAs as Mediators of Tumor Cell State Transitions, Receptor Remodeling, Drug Resistance, and Systemic Metastasis

Dear Colleagues,

Solid epithelial tumors predominate among the most common cancers affecting the human population worldwide. Despite therapeutic advancements in precision medicine and strategic immunotherapy favoring a decline in mortality rates, the spontaneous emergence of undetected, therapy-resistant tumor variants markedly increases the overall risk of relapse and death. Heterogeneous clones that emerge randomly mid-therapy feature distinct traits, and their affinity for metastatic progression indicates a multi-gene network regulatory mechanism. An orchestrated gain or loss of regulatory molecular markers such as microRNAs, either as objective markers or in combination with other targeted genes and proteins, needs to be validated as an intermittent traceable alternative to the malignant status of tumors in situ. Such changes comprehensively represent the dysregulated molecular pathways in response to the tumor microenvironment and mediate the immune responsiveness of interacting cells in the tumor milieu. In addition, the presence of circulatory microRNAs tends to transiently alter this milieu, favoring the evolution of heterogeneous clones of resistant tumor cell variants. A spotlight on the effective mapping of the functionalities and timeliness of expression will address the therapeutic implications of microRNAs in restricting disease progression in solid epithelial tumors.

Dr. Vinitha Richard
Prof. Dr. Michael J. Kerin
Guest Editors

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