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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Detection of a Circulating MicroRNA Custom Panel in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Published on: March 14, 2019
Circulating MicroRNAs in Cancer: Potential and Challenge
Mengying Cui1, Hongdan Wang2, Xiaoxiao Yao1
1Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Abstract:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding small RNA molecules that can be secreted into the circulation and exist in remarkably stable forms. Like intercellular miRNAs, circulating miRNAs participate in numerous regulations of biological process and expressed aberrantly under abnormal or pathological status. The quality and quantity changes of circulating miRNAs are associated with the initiation and progression of cancer and can be easily detected by basic molecular biology techniques. Consequently, considerable effort has been devoted to identify suitable extracellular miRNAs for noninvasive biomarkers in cancer. However, several challenges need to be overcome before the practical application. In this review, we discuss several issues of circulating miRNAs: biological function and basic transport carriers; extracellular cell communication process; roles as reliable cancer biomarkers and usage in targeted cancer therapy; and challenges for clinical application.
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