TY - JOUR A2 - Buonaguro, Franco M. AU - Mayr, Christian AU - Beyreis, Marlena AU - Wagner, Andrej AU - Pichler, Martin AU - Neureiter, Daniel AU - Kiesslich, Tobias PY - 2016 DA - 2016/11/09 TI - Deregulated MicroRNAs in Biliary Tract Cancer: Functional Targets and Potential Biomarkers SP - 4805270 VL - 2016 AB - Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is still a fatal disease with very poor prognosis. The lack of reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis and of effective therapeutic targets is a major demanding problem in diagnosis and management of BTC. Due to the clinically silent and asymptomatic characteristics of the tumor, most patients are diagnosed at an already advanced stage allowing only for a palliative therapeutic approach. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs well known to regulate various cellular functions and pathologic events including the formation and progression of cancer. Over the last years, several studies have shed light on the role of microRNAs in BTC, making them potentially attractive therapeutic targets and candidates as biomarkers. In this review, we will focus on the role of oncogenic and tumor suppressor microRNAs and their direct targets in BTC. Furthermore, we summarize and discuss data that evaluate the diagnostic power of deregulated microRNAs as possible future biomarkers for BTC. SN - 2314-6133 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4805270 DO - 10.1155/2016/4805270 JF - BioMed Research International PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -