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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 6, 2020; 8(9): 1580-1585
Published online May 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i9.1580
Role of microRNAs in the predisposition to gastrointestinal malignancies
Maria Baz, Tony Ibrahim
Maria Baz, Department of Tumor Molecular Biology, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villfejuif 94805, France
Tony Ibrahim, Department of Medical Oncology, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villfejuif 94805, France
Author contributions: Baz M and Ibrahim T contributed equally to the article by reviewing the literature, writing and editing the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest to declare for both authors.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: Tony Ibrahim, MD, MSc, Associate Specialist, Doctor, Research Scientist, Department of Medical Oncology, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, No. 114, rue Edouard-Vaillant, Villejuif 94805, France. tony.ibrahim@gustaveroussy.fr
Received: December 29, 2019
Peer-review started: December 29, 2019
First decision: January 19, 2020
Revised: March 26, 2020
Accepted: April 24, 2020
Article in press: April 24, 2020
Published online: May 6, 2020
Processing time: 122 Days and 16.8 Hours
Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly deregulated in cancer and play a role in the initiation of tumorigenesis. Recently, miRNAs have attracted attention in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could affect the genes involved in each step of miRNA biosynthesis. Several meta-analyses of case-control studies have assessed the association between miRNA “pathway” gene-SNPs (including biosynthesis regulators and binding sites) and susceptibility to GI cancers. We present in this mini-review the current knowledge on the association between miRNAs “pathway” genes and GI cancer predisposition. The interaction between miRNA/regulators/binding site-SNPs and environmental as well as genomic factors is an interesting field that should be exploited in future studies.

Keywords: Cancer; Digestive tract; MicroRNA; Review; Risk; Single nucleotide polymorphism

Core tip: We discuss in this mini-review the current knowledge on the association between microRNA-gene-single nucleotide polymorphisms as well as their regulators/binding sites and gastrointestinal cancer predisposition. They could act as tumor suppressors as well as oncogenes depending on their target. We also discuss the interaction between microRNAs and environmental factors and genomic susceptibility like microsatellite instability.