Emerging Role of Biomarkers in Testicular Germ Cell Tumors

This review will focus on biomarkers in testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT), focusing on microRNAs with high potential clinical application to drive management of TGCT. We explore the mechanism of action of microRNAs, literature to date, and how microRNAs may be incorporated into clinical practice in the near future.

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs found in blood which play an important role in post-transcriptional gene regulation and have been explored in TGCT for the past 15 years. More recently, results show they are promising biomarkers for diagnosis with impressive sensitivity and specificity, while also being cost-effective. MicroRNAs will likely play a critical role in areas of unmet need in GCT in the next decade, as they have many of the characteristics of an ideal biomarker. Ongoing prospective clinical trials evaluating microRNA-371 will be eagerly awaited and will help inform decision-making in real-world application.