RNA Inhibition, MicroRNAs, and New Therapeutic Agents for Cancer Treatment

Over the past few years, molecular oncology research has revealed that abnormalities in both protein-coding genes (PCGs) and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) can be identified in tumors and that the interplay between PCGs and ncRNAs is causally involved in the initiation, progression, and metastases of human cancers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are among the most studied ncRNAs, are small 19- to 25-nucleotide genes involved in the regulation of PCGs and other ncRNAs. With the recent findings of miRNAs' involvement in cancer, RNA inhibition can be used to treat cancer patients in two ways: (1) by using RNA or DNA molecules as therapeutic drugs against messenger RNA of genes involved in the pathogenesis of cancers and (2) by directly targeting ncRNAs that participate in cancer pathogenesis. In this review, we focus on the possible use of miRNAs or compounds interacting with miRNAs as new therapeutic agents in cancer patients.