MiRNAs/UCRs: biomarkers for cancer risk, tumor detection, progression & treatment

描述（由申请人提供）：在本申请中，我们提出开发microRNA和超保守非编码RNA（UCR）生物标志物，用于评估癌症风险和早期检测五种不同的上皮癌，包括四种最常见的恶性肿瘤（肺癌、乳腺癌、前列腺癌和结肠直肠癌）。为什么这些常见的上皮肿瘤导致如此多的死亡并且对治疗没有反应的一个主要原因（如果不是主要原因的话）是，当它们被检测和诊断时，恶性细胞已经积累了大量的遗传和表观遗传改变，并且通常已经获得了“突变体”表型。在过去的五年中，我们已经建立了microRNA表达谱，在某些情况下，UCR表达谱，主要的人类上皮恶性肿瘤。基于这一广泛的经验，现在我们打算评估microRNA和UCR失调是否可以在有患癌症风险和癌症进展风险的个体的血清中检测到，以开发癌症风险的非侵入性生物标志物和早期检测。这样的生物标志物也可以用来跟踪治疗的成功。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this application we propose to develop microRNA and ultraconserved non coding RNA (UCR) biomarkers for the assessment of cancer risk and for the early detection of five different epithelial cancers, including the four most common malignant tumors (lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer). A major reason, if not the major reason, of why these common epithelial tumors cause so much death and fail to respond to treatment is that by the time they are detected and diagnosed, the malignant cells have accumulated a large number of genetic and epigenetic alterations and have often acquired a "mutator" phenotype. During the past five years, we have established the microRNA expression profiles and, in some cases the UCR expression profiles, of the major human epithelial malignancies. On the basis of this extensive experience, now we intend to assess whether microRNA and UCR dysregulation can be detected in the serum of individuals at risk of developing cancer and at risk of cancer progression in order to develop non invasive biomarkers of cancer risk and for early detection. Such biomarkers could then be also exploited to follow the success of therapy.