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Circulating miRNA and cancer diagnosis

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Abstract

miRNAs are a class of small RNA molecules with regulatory function, and play an important role in tumor development and progression. It has been demonstrated that tumor-derived miRNAs exist in the circulating nucleic acids of cancer patients. This phenomenon implies that detection of the circulating miRNA may be an effective method for non-invasive diagnosis of cancer. In this review, we summarize the applications of the circulating miRNA as biomarkers in cancer diagnosis, as well as the latest research progress in this area.

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Correspondence to XiaoFei Zheng.

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Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30870529 and 30873008) and Chinese Key Project for the Infectious Diseases (Grant No. 2008ZX10002-016)

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Tie, Y., Liu, B., Fu, H. et al. Circulating miRNA and cancer diagnosis. SCI CHINA SER C 52, 1117–1122 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-009-0158-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-009-0158-5

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