Roles of micrornas in regulating cancer stemness in head and neck cancers

12Citations
Citations of this article
29Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are epithelial malignancies with 5-year overall survival rates of approximately 40–50%. Emerging evidence indicates that a small population of cells in HNSCC patients, named cancer stem cells (CSCs), play vital roles in the processes of tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, immune evasion, chemo-/radioresistance, and recur-rence. The acquisition of stem-like properties of cancer cells further provides cellular plasticity for stress adaptation and contributes to therapeutic resistance, resulting in a worse clinical outcome. Thus, targeting cancer stemness is fundamental for cancer treatment. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to regulate stem cell features in the development and tissue regeneration through a miRNA– target interactive network. In HNSCCs, miRNAs act as tumor suppressors and/or oncogenes to modulate cancer stemness and therapeutic efficacy by regulating the CSC-specific tumor microen-vironment (TME) and signaling pathways, such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) signaling pathways. Owing to a deeper understanding of disease-relevant miR-NAs and advances in in vivo delivery systems, the administration of miRNA-based therapeutics is feasible and safe in humans, with encouraging efficacy results in early-phase clinical trials. In this review, we summarize the present findings to better understand the mechanical actions of miRNAs in maintaining CSCs and acquiring the stem-like features of cancer cells during HNSCC pathogenesis.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Fitriana, M., Hwang, W. L., Chan, P. Y., Hsueh, T. Y., & Liao, T. T. (2021, April 1). Roles of micrornas in regulating cancer stemness in head and neck cancers. Cancers. MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13071742

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free