title: MicroRNAs: Potential candidates for diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer.
abstract: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is known as the third common cancer worldwide and an important public health problem in different populations. Several genetics and environmental risk factors are involved in the development and progression of CRC including chromosomal abnormalities, epigenetic alterations, and unhealthy lifestyle. Identification of risk factors and biomarkers could lead to a better understanding of molecular pathways involved in CRC pathogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulatory molecules which could affect a variety of cellular and molecular targets in CRC. A large number of studies have indicated deregulations of some known tissue-specific miRNAs, for example, miR-21, miR-9, miR-155, miR-17, miR-19, let-7, and miR-24 as well as circulating miRNAs, for example, miR-181b, miR-21, miR-183, let-7g, miR-17, and miR-126, in patients with CRC. In the current review, we focus on the findings of preclinical and clinical studies performed on tissue-specific and circulating miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the detection of patients at various stages of CRC.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Injuries Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moridikia
authors.affiliation: Chemical Injuries Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.|Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9399-8281
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mirzaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.|Biotechnology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Amirhossein
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sahebkar
authors.affiliation: Chemical Injuries Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Jafar
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4143-8565
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salimian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: colorectal cancer; diagnosis; microRNA; therapy