MicroRNAs as Predictive Biomarkers in Patients with Colorectal Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy or Chemoradiotherapy: A Narrative Literature Review

I-Ping Yang; Kwan-Ling Yip; Yu-Tang Chang; Yen-Cheng Chen; Ching-Wen Huang; Hsiang-Lin Tsai; Yung-Sung Yeh; Jaw-Yuan Wang

doi:10.3390/cancers15051358

MicroRNAs as Predictive Biomarkers in Patients with Colorectal Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy or Chemoradiotherapy: A Narrative Literature Review

Cancers (Basel). 2023 Feb 21;15(5):1358. doi: 10.3390/cancers15051358.

Authors

I-Ping Yang¹, Kwan-Ling Yip², Yu-Tang Chang^{3

4}, Yen-Cheng Chen^{2

5}, Ching-Wen Huang^{2

3}, Hsiang-Lin Tsai^{2

3}, Yung-Sung Yeh^{6

7

8}, Jaw-Yuan Wang^{2

3

5

9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nursing, Shu-Zen College of Medicine and Management, Kaohsiung 82144, Taiwan.
² Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
³ Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
⁴ Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
⁵ Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
⁶ Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
⁸ Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
⁹ Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Center for Cancer Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
¹¹ Pingtung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Pingtung 90054, Taiwan.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies and is associated with high mortality rates worldwide. The underlying mechanism of tumorigenesis in CRC is complex, involving genetic, lifestyle-related, and environmental factors. Although radical resection with adjuvant FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy have remained mainstays of treatment for patients with stage III CRC and locally advanced rectal cancer, respectively, the oncological outcomes of these treatments are often unsatisfactory. To improve patients' chances of survival, researchers are actively searching for new biomarkers to facilitate the development of more effective treatment strategies for CRC and metastatic CRC (mCRC). MicroRNAs (miRs), small, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs, can post-transcriptionally regulate mRNA translation and trigger mRNA degradation. Recent studies have documented aberrant miR levels in patients with CRC or mCRC, and some miRs are reportedly associated with chemoresistance or radioresistance in CRC. Herein, we present a narrative review of the literature on the roles of oncogenic miRs (oncomiRs) and tumor suppressor miRs (anti-oncomiRs), some of which can be used to predict the responses of patients with CRC to chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Moreover, miRs may serve as potential therapeutic targets because their functions can be manipulated using synthetic antagonists and miR mimics.

Keywords: chemoresistance; colorectal cancer; microRNAs; predictive biomarkers; radioresistance.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 109-2314-B-037-046-MY3, MOST110-2314-B-037-097, MOST 111-2314-B-037-070-MY3, MOST 111-2314-B-037-049) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW111-TDU-B-221-114014, financed by the Tobacco Health and Welfare Surcharge), Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) Hospital (KMUH110-0R37, KMUH110-0R38, KMUH110-0M34, KMUH110-0M35, KMUH110-0M36, KMUH-DK(B)110004-3), the KMU Center for Cancer Research (KMU-TC111A04-1), and the KMU Office for Industry-Academic Collaboration (S109036). In addition, this study was supported by a grant from the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative and Taiwan Biobank (Academia Sinica, Taiwan, R.O.C.).