The clinical and diagnostic role of microRNAs in ovarian carcinoma

• MicroRNAs are widely deregulated in ovarian carcinoma.
• MicroRNA expression identifies biological pathways and is informative of chemotherapy response and survival.
• New technologies are likely to expand our knowledge of microRNA-regulated cellular networks.

ObjectiveMicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) are non-coding RNAs which post-transcriptionally regulate mRNA synthesis. Data regarding the expression and clinical relevance of miRNAs and the miRNA-regulating machinery in ovarian carcinoma has been rapidly expanding in recent years. This review presents current knowledge in this area.MethodsPubMed search was undertaken using the terms ‘ovarian’ and ‘microRNA’.ResultsA total of 492 papers were identified, of which approximately 100 were publications in English focusing exclusively or partly on clinical ovarian carcinoma specimens. These studies have identified multiple miRNAs with a potential role in the diagnosis, biology and progression of ovarian carcinoma, as well as on predicting chemoresponse and determining prognosis.ConclusionsThe presented data support a clinical role for miRNAs in ovarian carcinoma and suggest that miRNA-regulated pathways may be of relevance for novel therapeutics. Novel technologies offer new possibilities for wide-scale miRNA-based classification of OC. Further genomic research focusing on larger series of tumors of similar histological type in combination with experimental approaches is likely to expand our understanding of the role of miRNAs in this cancer.