Resistance may not be futile: microRNA biomarkers for chemoresistance and potential therapeutics

Abstract

Chemoresistance to many commercially available cancer therapeutic drugs is a common occurrence and contributes to cancer mortality as it often leads to disease progression. There have been a number of studies evaluating the mechanisms of resistance and the biological factors involved. microRNAs have recently been identified as playing a role in the regulation of key genes implicated as cancer therapeutic targets or in mechanisms of chemoresistance including EGFR, MDR1, PTEN, Bak1, and PDCD4 among others. This article briefly reviews chemoresistance mechanisms, discusses how microRNAs can play a role in those mechanisms, and summarizes current research involving microRNAs as both regulators of key target genes for chemoresistance and biomarkers for treatment response. It is clear from the accumulating literature that microRNAs can play an important role in chemoresistance and hold much promise for the development of targeted therapies and personalized medicine. This review brings together much of this new research as a starting point for identifying key areas of interest and potentials for future study.