Deciphering the roles of miR-16-5p in malignant solid tumors

MiR-16-5p, a member of the miR-16 family, has been reported to be abnormal expression in tumor tissues and blood of tumor patients, and also downregulated in most cancer cell lines. Aberrant expression of miR-16-5p promotes tumor cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and can also affect the treatment sensitivity, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Generally, miR-16-5p plays an anti-tumor role and these diverse functions of miR-16-5p in tumors collectively indicate that miR-16-5p may become an attractive target for novel anticancer therapies and a powerful diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for early tumor detection and population risk screening. Herein we review the role and utilization of miR-16-5p in malignant tumor in detail.