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Applications of Extracellular RNAs in Oncology

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Abstract

Extracellular RNAs consist of coding and non-coding transcripts released from all cell types, which are involved in multiple cellular processes, predominantly through regulation of gene expression. Recent advances have helped us better understand the functions of these molecules, particularly microRNAs (miRNAs). Numerous pre-clinical and human studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are dysregulated in cancer and contribute to tumorigenesis and metastasis. miRNA profiling has extensively been evaluated as a non-invasive method for cancer diagnosis, prognostication, and assessment of response to cancer therapies. Broader applications for miRNAs in these settings are currently under active development. Investigators have also moved miRNAs into the realm of cancer therapy. miRNA antagonists targeting miRNAs that silence tumor suppressor genes have shown promising pre-clinical activity. Alternatively, miRNA mimics that silence oncogenes are also under active investigation. These miRNA-based cancer therapies are in early development, but represent novel strategies for clinical management of human cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA

    Jonathan R. Thompson & Deepak Kilari

  2. Department of Pathology and MCW Cancer Center, TBRC-C4970, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA

    Jing Zhu & Liang Wang

Authors
  1. Jonathan R. Thompson
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  2. Jing Zhu
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  3. Deepak Kilari
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  4. Liang Wang
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Correspondence to Liang Wang.

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Conflict of interest

The authors JRT, JZ, DK, and LW disclose no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

This work was supported by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin fund (Project# 5520227) to LW, by the State of Wisconsin Income Tax Check-Off Program in Prostate Cancer Research to DK, by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant # 81301752) and China Scholarship Council (CSC) to JZ, and by the Mazie Froedtert Willms & Sue Froedtert Endowed Cancer Fellowship for JRT.

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Thompson, J.R., Zhu, J., Kilari, D. et al. Applications of Extracellular RNAs in Oncology. Mol Diagn Ther 21, 1–11 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-016-0239-7

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