Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers diagnosed and among the commonest causes of cancer-related mortality globally. Despite the various available treatment options, millions of people still suffer from this illness and most of these treatment options have several limitations. Therefore, a less expensive, non-invasive or a treatment that requires the use of dietary products remains a focal point in this review.
Main body: Aberrant microRNA expression has been revealed to have a functional role in the initiation and progression of CRC. These has shown significant promise in the diagnosis and prognosis of CRC, owing to their unique expression profile associated with cancer types and malignancies. Moreover, microRNA therapeutics show a great promise in preclinical studies, and these encourage further development of their clinical use in CRC patients. Additionally, emerging studies show the chemo-preventive potential of dietary components in microRNA modulation using several CRC models. This review examines the dietary interplay between microRNAs and CRC incidence. Improving the understanding of the interactions between microRNAs and dietary components in the carcinogenesis of CRC will assist the study of CRC progression and finally, in developing personalized approaches for cancer prevention and therapy.
Conclusion: Although miRNA research is still at its infancy, it could serve as a promising predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CRC. Given the ever-expanding number of miRNAs, understanding their functional aspects represents a promising option for further research.
Keywords: Biomarkers; Chemoprevention; Colorectal cancer; Diet; microRNA.