MicroRNAs and the cancer phenotype: profiling, signatures and clinical implications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key genetic regulators of a wide variety of biological processes, including growth, proliferation, and survival. Recent advances have led to the recognition that miRNAs can act as potent oncogenes and tumor suppressors, playing crucial roles in the initiation, maintenance, and progression of the oncogenic state in a variety of cancers. Determining how miRNA expression and function is altered in cancer is an important goal, and a necessary prerequisite to the development and adoption of miRNA-based therapeutics in the clinic. Highly promising clinical applications of miRNAs are the use of miRNA signatures as biomarkers for cancer (for example, for early detection or diagnosis), and therapeutic supplementation or inhibition of specific miRNAs to alter the cancer phenotype. In this review, we discuss the main methods used for miRNA profiling, and examine key miRNAs that are commonly altered in a variety of tumors. Current studies underscore the functional versatility and potency of miRNAs in various aspects of the cancer phenotype, pointing to their potential clinical applications. Consequently, we discuss the application of miRNAs as biomarkers, clinical agents, and therapeutic targets, highlighting both the enormous potential and major challenges in this field.