MicroRNAs are small (18-25 nt) noncoding RNA molecules that are part of gene expression regulation and influence tumorigenesis. They could possibly be used as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cancer in the future.Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. These also include sinonasal carcinoma, a rare disease arising in the epithelium of respiratory tract, which is very poorly studied from the molecular perspective.MicroRNAs that have influence on pathogenesis of head and neck tumors have been divided into three categories: microRNAs associated with invasiveness and metastatic processes, microRNAs operating as oncogenes and microRNAs associated with HPV status and smoking. We expect that the described microRNAs could be part of regulatory mechanisms also in sinonasal carcinoma.
Keywords: epigenetics; head and neck cancer; microRNAs; sinonasal carcinoma..