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microRNA and Cancer

  • Review Article
  • Theme and Issue: siRNA and microRNA: From Target Validation to Therapy
  • Published:
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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small, regulatory, non-coding RNA molecules, display aberrant expression patterns and functional abnormalities in human diseases including cancers. This review summarizes the abnormally expressed miRNAs in various types of human cancers, possible mechanisms underlying such abnormalities, and miRNA-modulated molecular pathways critical for cancer development. Practical implications of miRNAs as biomarkers, novel drug targets and therapeutic tools for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatments of human cancers are also discussed.

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A Ministry of Science and Technology of China grant ([973]2005CB724605); a Natural Science Foundation of China grant (30872930); and a grant from the Science and Technology Department of the Zhuhai Municipality of Guangdong Province (PC20071076) to M.-F. Li; grants from the National Institutes of Health (CA102011, CA130966), American Cancer Society (RSG CSM-107144) and the Hillman Fellows Program for Innovative Cancer Research to S.-Y. Cheng.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Mengfeng Li, Jun Li, Xiaofan Ding & Mian He

  2. Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China

    Mengfeng Li & Mian He

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Jun Li & Xiaofan Ding

  4. Cancer Institute and Departments of Pathology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, USA

    Shi-Yuan Cheng

Authors
  1. Mengfeng Li
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  2. Jun Li
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  3. Xiaofan Ding
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  4. Mian He
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  5. Shi-Yuan Cheng
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Correspondence to Mengfeng Li.

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Guest Editor: Song Li

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Li, M., Li, J., Ding, X. et al. microRNA and Cancer. AAPS J 12, 309–317 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12248-010-9194-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1208/s12248-010-9194-0

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