title: MicroRNA and pediatric tumors: Future perspectives.
abstract: A better understanding of pediatric tumor biology is needed to allow the development of less toxic and more efficient therapies, as well as to provide novel reliable biomarkers for diagnosis and risk stratification. The emerging role of microRNAs in controlling key pathways implicated in tumorigenesis makes their use in diagnostics a powerful novel tool for the early detection, risk assessment and prognosis, as well as for the development of innovative anticancer therapies. This perspective would be more urgent for the clinical management of pediatric cancer. In this review, we focus on the involvement of microRNAs in the biology of the main childhood tumors, describe their clinical significance and discuss their potential use as novel therapeutic tools and targets.
authors.affiliation: IOM Ricerca s.r.l., Via Penninazzo 11, 95029 Viagrande, Italy. Electronic address: sarogulino@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gulino
authors.affiliation: IOM Ricerca s.r.l., Via Penninazzo 11, 95029 Viagrande, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Forte
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95127 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosalba
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Parenti
authors.affiliation: IOM Ricerca s.r.l., Via Penninazzo 11, 95029 Viagrande, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Memeo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95127 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gulisano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm
keywords: Circulating biomarker; MicroRNA; Pediatric cancer