Title:MicroRNAs: Potential Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets for Breast Cancer
VOLUME: 1 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Athena Starlard-Davenport, Orloff S. Mohammed, Beverly Lyn-Cook and Susan Kadlubar
Affiliation:Department of Medical Genetics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham, #580, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
Keywords:Biomarkers, breast cancer, DNA methylation, FFPE, MicroRNA, next generation sequencing.
Abstract:Since the discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) as crucial regulators of both physiologic and
pathologic processes in human diseases, the application of miRNAs as a suitable diagnostic and
therapeutic tool for breast cancer has been extensively explored. Mounting evidence indicates that miRNAs are
dysregulated in breast cancer. More recently, the utilization of archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) breast
specimens has become a powerful resource for miRNA expression profiling in breast cancer and surrounding noncancerous
breast tissue. In this review, we focus on the role of miRNA dysregulation in breast cancer and highlight the
advantages for the use of FFPE samples as a potential clinical resource for identifying and validating tumor suppressor
and oncogenic miRNAs involved in breast tumorigenesis, metastasis, and epigenetic regulation.
