MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous small noncoding regulatory RNAs, which are new regulators of gene expression. They interfere with multiple biological processes involved in tumorigenesis such as cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. A large body of evidence shows that the aberrant expression of miRNAs in cancer patients provides numerous underlying merits as diagnostic, clinical pathological, prognostic markers, and as promising therapeutic targets of lung cancer, providing an insight into the clinical application for lung cancer. Here, we focus on specific miRNAs as biomarkers in lung cancer and briefly introduce the biological function and modification of miRNAs.
Keywords: biomarker; diagnosis; lung cancer; miRNA; prognosis.