CIRCULATING microRNAs: PROSPECTS OF USE FOR EARLY DIAGNOSTICS AND MONITORING OF TUMOR PROCESS

Lukianova N.Yu.¹, Borikun T.V.¹, Bazas V.M.², Yalovenko T.M.¹, Zadvornyi T.V.³, Malyshok N.V.⁴, Rossylna O.V.⁴

• ¹R.E. Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology, NAS of Ukraine
• ²Kyiv City Clinical Oncology Center
• ³R.E. Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of NAS of Ukraine
• ⁴Clinic for Personalized Diagnostics and Therapy Design «Oncotheranostics», Kyiv, Ukraine

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs of 21–22 nucleotides in length that are involved in the post-trans­criptional regulation of gene expression. Today, more than 2500 micro­RNAs are already known and this list is constantly growing. Much of the research in recent years is devoted to the study of changes in the expression of micro­RNAs in the occurrence of various pathological conditions of the organism, including cancer. The results of our own studies and the literature on the possibility of using microRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic markers of the most common malignancies are analyzed and summarized. The prospects of using panels of circulating micro­RNAs to monitor the course of the tumor process and to determine the sensitivity of tumors of different histogene­sis to drug treatment are discussed. To date microRNAs have been identified with high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for most malignancies; if successfully passed clinical trials, the determination of such miRNAs can be put into medical practice as a minimally invasive test.