title: MicroRNA Deregulations in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Head and neck/oral cancer, predominantly head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), is the sixth most common cancer in the world. While substantial advances have been made to define the genomic alterations associated with head and neck/oral cancer, most studies are focused on protein coding genes. The aim of this article is to review the current literature on identified genomic aberrations of non-coding genes (e.g., microRNA) in head and neck/oral cancer (HNOC), and their contribution to the initiation and progression of HNOC.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive review of the available literature relevant to microRNA deregulation in HNSCC/HNOC, was undertaken using PubMed, Medline, Scholar Google and Scopus. Keywords for the search were: microRNA and oral cancer, microRNA and squamous cell carcinoma, microRNA deregulation and oral cancer, microRNA and carcinogenesis in the head and neck/oral cavity. Only full length articles in the English language were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We recently identified a panel of microRNA deregulations that were consistently observed in HNSCC [Chen et al., Oral Oncol. 2012;48(8):686-91], including 7 consistently up-regulated microRNAs (miR-21, miR-7, miR-155, miR-130b, miR-223, miR-34b), and 4 consistently down-regulated microRNAs (miR-100, miR-99a, miR-125b, miR-375). In this review, we will first provide an overview on microRNA and HNSCC. We will then provide a comprehensive review on the roles of microRNA deregulations in HNSCC. The functional significance of the identified HNSCC-associated microRNAs and a number of other relevant microRNAs (e.g., miR-138, miR-98, miR-137, miR-193a and miR-218) will be discussed in detail.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on current literature, microRNA deregulation plays a major role in head and neck/oral cancer.
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Biology of Oral Diseases, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA. ; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, Guangdong China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA. ; Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cabay
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Biology of Oral Diseases, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, Guangdong China.
authors.forename: Anxun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, Guangdong China. ; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, Guangdong China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Biology of Oral Diseases, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA.
authors.forename: Muzaffar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shah-Khan
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Biology of Oral Diseases, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA. ; Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA. ; UIC Cancer Center, Graduate College, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois USA.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
keywords: carcinogenesis tests.; microRNA; squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck