Table 1. miRNA signatures in human cancers.
Representative examples of miRNA expression signatures in the most common human cancers.
| Tumor | Results | References | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic lymphocytic leukemia | CLL cells show a unique signaturethat associate with the presence or absence of disease progression and cytogenetic abnormalities. | 18, 53, 92 | |
| Acute myeloid leukemia | CD34(+) cells and AML cases differentially express miRNAs that associate with several cytogenetic groups (11q23 translocations and isolated trisomy 8). | 19 | |
| Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) | Identified 12 miRNAs in APL blasts compared to normal promyelocytes; miR-342 and let-7c are modulated by retinoic acid. | 100 | |
| Multiple Myeloma (MM) | First identification of miRNA signature in myeloma cell lines and patients. | 23 | |
| Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) | Identification of miRNA signature in ALL patients. | 101 | |
| B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) and follicolar lymphomas (FL) | DLBCL- and FL-specific miRNA signatures. 98% of all 111 cases were correctly identified based on the expression of 4 miRNA (miR-210/106a/17-5p/330). | 103 | |
| Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma | Identification of several miRNAs differentially expressed in the progression from low grade-dysplasia Barrett's esophagus to adenocarcinoma. | 105 | |
| Breast cancer | Reported miRNomes of normal and breast cancer samples. Dysregulated miRNAs associate with invasive breast cancer pathologic features, such as ER status. | 22 | |
| Glioblastoma | Reported miRNA profiles from case-matching pairs of tumor and control samples. 9 miRNAs are overexpr- essed and 4 are underexpressed in tumors compared to normal. | 21 | |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) | Reported miRNA profiles in HCC compared to adjacent normal tissue and additional chronic hepatitis specimens. Identified a new diagnostic tool for HCC. | 17 | |
| Ovarian cancer | Identification of miRNAs whose expression correlates with specific ovarian cancer pathologies, such as histotype, lymphovascular and organ invasion and involvement of ovarian surface. | 93 | |
| Lung adenocarcinoma | Reported molecular signatures that differ across tumor histology; miR-155 and let-7 correlate with survival. | 94 | |
| Papillary thyroid carcinoma | Reported upregulation of miRNA-221/222 in tumor cells and adjacent normal cells as compared to normal thyroid | 95 | |
| Endocrine pancreatic cancer | Reported miRNA signatures from endocrine and acinar tumors; miR-21 associates with proliferation index and liver metastasis | 96 | |
| Colon cancer | Reported differential expression levels for 39 miRNAs between colon tumors normal tissue. Colon tumors differentially express miRNAs according to their mismatch repair status. | 20 | |
| Gastric cancer | Identified 22 miRNAs upregulated and 13 downregulated in gastric cancer by comparing non-tumour mucosa to cancerous tissue,. | 97 | |
| Cervical cancer | Identification of miRNA signature in 102 cervical cancer by PCR-based miRNA assay. miR-200a and miR-9 predict patient survival. | 98 | |
| Clear-cell Kidney cancer (ccRCC) | Identified 26 miRNA downregulated and 9 upregulated in 28 ccRCC patient-matched specimens. Downregulated microRNAs are correlated with common chromosome deletion in ccRCC. | 99 | |
| Sarcoma | microRNA expression is able to classify different histological types of sarcoma reflecting differentiation status and apparent lineage of the tumors. | 102 | |
| Bladder cancer | Identification of miRNA differentially expressed between normal urothelium/cancer and different disease stages. miR-129 predicts disease progression. | 104 | |