Preliminary research has found an association between certain microRNA expression patterns and poor survival and treatment outcomes for colon cancer, according to a study in the January 30 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Colon cancer is a major cause of cancer death worldwide. Colorectal cancer is the third most common and second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. “Even though 5-year mortality rates have modestly declined over the last 3 decades, there is still a need to identify new prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for this disease,” the authors write. They add that microRNAs have potential as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cancer.
MicroRNAs are 18 to 25 nucleotide, noncoding RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules that have been found to regulate a variety of cellular processes and may also have a role in the development of cancer cells. The prognostic potential of microRNAs has been demonstrated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, according to background information in the article. No study has evaluated the association between microRNA expression patterns and colon cancer prognosis or therapeutic outcomes.
Aaron J. Schetter, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Curtis C. Harris, M.D., of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues evaluated microRNA profiles of colon tumors and paired nontumorous tissue to study their potential role in tumor formation, diagnosis and therapeutic outcome in colon cancer. The study included 84 patients from Maryland; associations were validated in a second, independent group of 113 patients from Hong Kong.