Cancer Stem-Cell Related miRNAs: Novel Potential Targets for Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Globally Prostate Cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed and sixth leading cause of Cancer mortalities in men worldwide but currently there is no cure for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Chemoresistance and metastasis are the main causes of treatment resistance and mortality in Prostate Cancer patients. Although several advances have been made to control yet there is an urgent need to investigate the mechanisms and pathways for chemoresistance and prostate cancer (PCa) metastasis. Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a sub-population of cancer cells characterised by self-renewal and tumor initiation, have gained intense attention as they not only play a crucial role in cancer relapse but also contribute substantially to chemoresistance. Contributing to the role of CSCs are the miRNAs which are known key regulators of the posttranscriptional regulation of genes involved in a wide array of biological processes including tumorigenesis. The altered expressions of miRNAs have been associated with not only with tumor development but also with invasion, angiogenesis, drug resistance, and metastasis. Thus identification of signature miRNA associated with EMT and CSCs would provide a novel therapeutic strategy for the improvement of current treatment thus leading to increase in patient’s survival.