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Review
. 2020 Jan 29;21(3):878.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21030878.

The miRNAs Role in Melanoma and in Its Resistance to Therapy

Francesca Varrone  1 , Emilia Caputo  2
Affiliations
Review

The miRNAs Role in Melanoma and in Its Resistance to Therapy

Francesca Varrone et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Melanoma is the less common but the most malignant skin cancer. Since the survival rate of melanoma metastasis is about 10-15%, many different studies have been carried out in order to find a more effective treatment. Although the development of target-based therapies and immunotherapeutic strategies has improved chances for patient survival, melanoma treatment still remains a big challenge for oncologists. Here, we collect recent data about the emerging role of melanoma-associated microRNAs (miRNAs) currently available treatments, and their involvement in drug resistance. We also reviewed miRNAs as prognostic factors, because of their chemical stability and resistance to RNase activity, in melanoma progression. Moreover, despite miRNAs being considered small conserved regulators with the limitation of target specificity, we outline the dual role of melanoma-associated miRNAs, as oncogenic and/or tumor suppressive factors, compared to other tumors.

Keywords: drug resistance; melanoma; metastasis; miRNAs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of melanoma onset and progression. Melanoma onset and progression described in the text was illustrated, underlining its clonal evolution, phenotype switching, and high heterogeneity [10].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Melanoma treatment advances. Target-based therapy (A) and immunotherapy drugs (B) FDA-approved.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of several miRNAs able to regulate MITF, a master regulator of melanocyte development and of melanomagenesis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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