Chemotherapy: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

Circulating MicroRNAs in Sarcoma: Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Targets for Therapy

Tomohiro Fujiwara, Akira Kawai, Yutaka Nezu, Yu Fujita, Nobuyoshi Kosaka, Toshifumi Ozaki and Takahiro Ochiya

The importance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumor biology has been recognized over the past several years. Recently, evidence of circulating miRNAs in both healthy and unhealthy individuals has been accumulated, and is accelerating their potential to transform clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. Since there is a lack of useful biomarkers for bone and soft tissue sarcomas, the discovery of novel biomarkers that can be used at early disease stages to detect tumors or predict tumor response to chemotherapy or the chance of survival is one of the most important challenges in sarcoma management. Further more highly, sensitive and specific biomarkers might help diagnostic classification, since some cases are unclassifiable using modern diagnostic modalities. In this review, we summarize the emerging evidence of circulating miRNAs in sarcoma and discuss their potential as novel biomarkers and therapeutics.