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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 14, 2015; 21(34): 9853-9862
Published online Sep 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i34.9853
Circulating microRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic tools for hepatocellular carcinoma
Yu-Cheng Zhang, Zhuo Xu, Tian-Fu Zhang, Ya-Li Wang
Yu-Cheng Zhang, Science Research Center, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin Province, China
Zhuo Xu, Rehabilitation Department, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin Province, China
Tian-Fu Zhang, Stomatology Department, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin Province, China
Ya-Li Wang, Department of Blood Transfusion, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang TF, Xu Z and Wang YL contributed equally to this work; Zhang YC designed and wrote the manuscript; Zhang TF, Xu Z and Wang YL researched the literature data and revised the paper.
Supported by Department of Public Health of Jilin Province of China, No. 2009Z080 and No. 2014Q025; and Supporting Program of Bethune Medical Research of Jilin University, No. 2013207058.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Ya-Li Wang, MD, PHD, Department of Blood Transfusion, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, Jilin Province, China. zhang4083@163.com
Telephone: +86-431-84995423 Fax: +86-431-85166570
Received: April 26, 2015
Peer-review started: April 27, 2015
First decision: June 2, 2015
Revised: June 23, 2015
Accepted: July 18, 2015
Article in press: July 18, 2015
Published online: September 14, 2015
Processing time: 141 Days and 3.5 Hours
Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Conventional biomarkers exhibit poor performance in the surveillance, diagnosis, and prognosis of HCC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of evolutionarily conserved small non-coding RNAs that are involved in the regulation of gene expression and protein translation, and they play critical roles in cell growth, differentiation, and the development of various types of cancers, including HCC. Recent evidence revealed the role of miRNAs as potential novel and ideal biomarkers for HCC. miRNAs are released to extracellular spaces, and they are extremely stable in bodily fluids, including serum or plasma, where they are packaged into various microparticles or associated with RNA-binding proteins. Numerous studies have demonstrated that circulating miRNAs have potential applications as minimally invasive biomarkers for HCC diagnosis and prognosis. The present review highlights current understanding of miRNA biogenesis and the origins and types of circulating miRNAs. We summarize recent progress in the use of circulating miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for HCC. We also discuss the challenges and perspectives of the clinical utility of circulating miRNAs in HCC.

Keywords: Circulating microRNAs; Diagnosis; Prognosis; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Biomarkers

Core tip: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in cell growth, differentiation, and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The study of circulating miRNAs is a rapidly growing field of research, indicating the potential applications of miRNAs as minimally invasive biomarkers for HCC diagnosis, recurrence monitoring and prognosis. This review highlights current understanding of miRNA biogenesis and the origins and types of circulating miRNAs and summarizes recent progress in the study of circulating miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for HCC. We also discuss the challenges and perspectives regarding the clinical utility of circulating miRNAs in HCC.