MicroRNAs involved with hepatocellular carcinoma (Review)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies, which accounts for 90% of primary liver cancer. HCC usually presents with poor outcomes due to the high rates of tumor recurrence and widespread metastasis. However, the underlying mechanism of HCC initiation and progression, which significantly hindered the development of valid approaches for early detection and treatment remain to be elucidated. As a group of small non-coding RNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be involved in many types of diseases especially human malignancies. Numerous miRNAs are deregulated in HCC, which may shed some light on current investigations. Since miRNAs are stable and detected easily, their ectopic expression has been reported in HCC tissues, serum/plasma and cell lines. As previously described, miRNAs serve as tumor suppressors or oncogenes, indicating that miRNAs may be useful as diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic markers of HCC. In the present review, we assessed the latest data regarding dysregulated miRNAs in HCC and reviewed the reported functions of these miRNAs as they apply to the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC.