Main description:

Aberrant expression and function of microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer have added a new layer of complexity to the understanding of development and progression of the disease state. It has been demonstrated that miRNAs have a crucial function in oncogenesis by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. The expression signatures of miRNAs provide exciting opportunities in the diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of cancer. Since miRNAs can function as either oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in oncogenesis, the potential of using these small RNAs as therapeutic targets opens up new opportunities for cancer therapy by either inhibiting or augmenting their activity.

Contents:

Preface

Part I MicroRNAs: biology and implications in cancer

1 MicroRNAs and cancer: an overview
Sadegh Babashah

2 Epigenetics and microRNA in cancer
Jiazeng Xia, Xiaoqiang Guo, Kaiyuan Deng

3 MicroRNA, diet and cancer chemoprevention
Sharanjot Saini, Rajvir Dahiya

4 MicroRNAs and energy metabolism in cancer cells
Linchong Sun, Xiaoping He, Yang Cao, Ping Gao, Huafeng Zhang

5 MicroRNAs and solid tumors
Gianpiero Di Leva, Michela Garofalo

6 MicroRNAs and blood cancers
Charles H Lawrie

7 MicroRNAs and oncogenic human viruses
Muriel Thirion, Teru Kanda, Yoshiki Murakami, Takahiro Ochiya, Hisashi Iizasa

8 MicroRNAs linking cancer and inflammation: focus on liver cancer
Angelique Gougelet and Sabine Colnot

9 MicroRNAs and regulatory pathways in tumorigenesis
Jun Wei, Yong Li, Xiaoming Liu, William C. Cho

10 MicroRNA-modulated apoptotic and autophagic signaling networks in cancer
Bo Liu, Yu-quan Wei

11 MicroRNAs and cancer drug resistance and drug sensitivity
Hugo Seca, Raquel T. Lima, M. Helena Vasconcelos

12 The biological roles of microRNAs in cancer stem cells
Bin Bao, Asfar S. Azmi, Aamir Ahmad, Yiwei Li, Sanjeev Banerjee, Dejuan Kong, Shadan Ali, and Fazlul H. Sarkar

Part II MicroRNAs and their clinical implications

13 MicroRNAs and clinical implications in cancer
Jurgen Wittmann

14 MicroRNA expression profiling and its clinical impact in breast cancer
Manuela Ferracin, Laura Lupini

15 MicroRNAs and their clinical impact on resistance to anticancer treatment
Kirsten Lindner, Joerg Haier, Richard Hummel

16 Nanocarriers and microRNA-based scenarios for cancer therapy
Babak Bakhshinejad, Mohammad Amin Javidi, Sahar Babashah, Sadegh Babashah

17 Challenges and strategies for pulmonary delivery of microRNA-based therapeutics
Yu Fujita, Kazuyoshi Kuwano ,Takahiro Ochiya

Abbreviations

Index