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Circulating MicroRNAs as Noninvasive Biomarkers in Breast Cancer

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Minimal Residual Disease and Circulating Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer

Part of the book series: Recent Results in Cancer Research ((RECENTCANCER,volume 195))

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are master regulators of gene expression. By degrading or blocking translation of messenger RNA targets, these non-coding RNAs can modulate the expression of more than half the protein-coding genes in mammalian genomes. MiRNAs play important regulatory roles in a variety of cellular functions and in several diseases, including cancer. Aberrant miRNA expression has been well characterized in cancer, with implications for progression and prognosis. Recently, the discovery of miRNAs in body fluids, such as serum and plasma, opens up the possibility of using them as noninvasive biomarkers of disease and therapy response. In this chapter, we discuss the use of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of disease and therapy response and as diagnostic and prognostic markers in breast cancer. We also discuss the main issues related to establishing circulating miRNAs as biomarkers in cancer.

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Acknowledgments

G.A.C. is supported as a fellow by The University of Texas MD Anderson Research Trust, as a University of Texas System Regents research scholar, and by the CLL Global Research Foundation. Work in Dr. Calin’s laboratory is supported in part by the National Institutes of Health; a Department of Defense Breast Cancer Idea Award; Developmental Research Awards in Breast Cancer; MD Anderson’s Ovarian Cancer, Brain Cancer, and Leukemia SPORE grants; a CTT/3I-TD grant; a 2009 Seena Magowitz—Pancreatic Cancer Action Network AACR Pilot Grant; and MD Anderson’s Cancer Center Support Grant CA016672. J.W.Welsh is supported in part by Paul Calabreski K-12 grant. We thank Ann Sutton for her help in editing this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1881 East Road, Houston, TX, 77054, USA

    Maria Angelica Cortez & George Adrian Calin

  2. Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology, Unit 66, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Maria Angelica Cortez

  3. Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology, Unit 97, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    James William Welsh

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  1. Maria Angelica Cortez
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  2. James William Welsh
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  3. George Adrian Calin
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Correspondence to George Adrian Calin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Breast Cancer Translational Res. Lab., Institut Jules Bordet, Boulevard de Waterloo 125, Brussels, 1000, Belgium

    Michail Ignatiadis

  2. , Breast Cancer Translational Res. Lab., Institut Jules Bordet, Boulevard de Waterloo 125, Brussels, 1000, Belgium

    Christos Sotiriou

  3. Zentrum für Experimentelle Medizin, Inst. Tumorbiologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, 20246, Germany

    Klaus Pantel

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Cortez, M.A., Welsh, J.W., Calin, G.A. (2012). Circulating MicroRNAs as Noninvasive Biomarkers in Breast Cancer. In: Ignatiadis, M., Sotiriou, C., Pantel, K. (eds) Minimal Residual Disease and Circulating Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer. Recent Results in Cancer Research, vol 195. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28160-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28160-0_13

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