Cancer therapy via modulation of micro RNA levels: a promising future

Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are a class of naturally occurring ∼22 nt long non-coding small RNA molecules that regulate the expression of a wide range of genes involved in development, growth, proliferation and apoptosis. miRNAs are evolutionarily conserved from plants to animals, and they regulate and fine-tune a diverse array of biological processes. Recently, they have been shown to act as either oncogenes or tumor suppressors in a wide variety of tumors. Here, we review the studies that document the role of miRNAs as key players in human cancer and the potential therapeutic modality of exploiting miRNAs for cancer prognosis and treatment.