title: The role of miRNAs in bone metastasis and their significance in the detection of bone metastasis: a review of the published data.
abstract: The preferential metastasis of cancer cells to bone disrupts the process of bone remodeling and results in serious complications. Although bone imaging techniques are well established for bone metastasis diagnosis, they still have limits. Recently, small noncoding RNA molecules, called miRNAs, have become the subject of interest in many molecular pathways in relation to bone metastasis. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated the ability to distinguish normal from cancerous cells and metastatic bone tumor origin based on miRNA profiles. Here, we summarize the data on mechanisms of osteolytic and osteoblastic bone metastases supporting the involvement of miRNA changes in the bone metastatic evolution. We also focus on the available evidence regarding current clinical studies of miRNA expression in the detection of bone metastases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Fuzhou General Hospital, Fujian 350025, PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xuenong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ouyang
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: bone metastasis; bone metastatic microenvironment; clinical evidence; diagnostic value; miRNAs