The Potential of MicroRNAs as Non-Invasive Prostate Cancer Biomarkers: A Systematic Literature Review Based on a...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Biomarker Research

Background:

• Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of cancer death in men.
• The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has limitations, including high false-positive rates.
• MicroRNAs (miRs) are emerging as promising biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To consolidate the current state-of-the-art research on microRNAs as biomarkers for prostate cancer.
• To analyze and discuss the existing literature on miRs in PCa using a systematic review and text mining approach.

Main Methods:

• A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted.
• Text mining using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm was applied to analyze 213 publications.
• Research was organized into three key topics using the MySLR digital platform.

Main Results:

• Identified three main topics within the research area of miRs and PCa.
• Several miRs were found to be associated with prostate cancer progression.
• Detection of miRs in urine emerged as a promising non-invasive diagnostic tool.

Conclusions:

• MicroRNAs hold significant potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for prostate cancer.
• Urine-based microRNA detection represents a reliable and non-invasive approach for PCa diagnosis.
• Further research is recommended to advance the field of microRNA-based PCa diagnostics.