MicroRNA Expression Profile in Endometriosis and Endometriosis-Associated Ovarian Cancer-Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC) likely originates from endometriosis foci.
• MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in the carcinogenesis of EAOC.
• A distinct miRNA profile could potentially link endometriosis and EAOC and predict cancer development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if a specific miRNA profile is associated with endometriosis and EAOC.
• To investigate the potential causal relationship between endometriosis and EAOC through miRNA expression.
• To assess the clinical utility of miRNA profiles for prognosing carcinogenesis in endometriosis.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search (PubMed, Cochrane, Medline) following PRISMA guidelines.
• Inclusion criteria: studies evaluating miRNA expression in both endometriosis and EAOC under identical conditions.
• Quality assessment using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and ROBINS-I tool.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 13 studies (608 patients, >1000 miRNAs) revealed high heterogeneity.
• A meta-analysis was not feasible due to inconsistent methodologies and lack of raw data.
• No distinct miRNA profile could be established to differentiate between endometriosis and EAOC.

Conclusions:

• Insufficient comparable raw miRNA expression data exists to differentiate endometriosis from EAOC.
• High heterogeneity in reference gene sets prevents cross-study comparison of miRNA expression.
• Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is recommended for future studies to overcome standardization issues.