Extracellular urinary microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers of endometrial and ovarian cancer

IntroductionGynecological cancers account for a large number of cancer-related deaths in women. Endometrial cancer is the most prevalent, while ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological cancer worldwide. To overcome the clinical need for easy and rapid testing, there is a growing interest in cancer detection in non-invasive modalities. With a growing field of liquid biopsy, urine became interesting source of cancer biomarkers. ObjectivesThe aim of this manuscript is to provide an overview on the origin, analysis and the clinical significance of urine microRNAs in gynecological cancers, with a focus on ovarian and endometrial cancer. MicroRNAs, a class of small non-coding nucleic acids, are emerging as a non-invasive biomarkers due to the feasibility and the extreme stability in body fluids. Specific miRNA expression signatures have been previously identified in ovarian and endometrial cancer. ResultsThe aim of this manuscript is to provide an overview on the origin, analysis and the clinical significance of urine microRNAs in gynecological cancers, with the focus on ovarian and endometrial cancer. ConclusionThe advantages and limitations of urine microRNA utility and technologies are discussed. Previously detected microRNA from urine of the patients are summarized to evaluate their potential as non-invasive clinical biomarkers in gynecological oncology.