ABSTRACT

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an extremely aggressive tumor arising from pleural mesothelial cells and is generally attributable to asbestos exposure. Symptoms of malignant pleural mesothelioma appear 20-40 years after exposure to the carcinogen, but after detection it is rapidly fatal, with the median survival time of 9-12 months after diagnosis. The «golden standard» diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma relies in a panel of immunohistochemical stains, but no single immunohistochemical stain marker is 100% diagnostic, resulting in a difficult and time-consuming process. In addition, MPM can be difficult to distinguish from peripheral lung adenocarcinoma and metastatic epithelial cancers, in the absence of accurate markers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are double-stranded RNA that regulates post-transcriptional gene expression in essential cellular mechanisms. MicroRNA expression is tissue-specific and it seems not to depend on individual’s age or race. Recent studies have shown that miRNAs are aberrantly expressed in several solid tumors and the identification of the aberrant signature expression may be alternative diagnostic biomarkers for cancers. This review describes the studies focus on miRNAs as potential diagnostic biomarkers in malignant pleural mesothelioma, and the biological characteristics of miRNAs.

KEYWORDS

Malignant pleural mesothelioma, diagnosis, microRNAs.

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