Emerging roles of miRNAs in the development of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a fatal cancer which is expected to exceed breast cancer as the third foremost source of cancer mortality by 2025. This cancer has been associated with several somatic genetic aberrations including mutations in the KRAS, CDKN2A/p16, TP53, and SMAD4. In addition, epigenetic alterations have been shown to affect development of this cancer. miRNAs are among the mostly appreciated epigenetic factors in this regard. Several oncomiRs such as miR-212, miR 506, miR-196b, miR-221-3p, miR-301a-3p, miR-23a and miR-29a have been found to promote proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells and block apoptotic pathways in these cells. On the other hand, miR-451a, miR-506, miR-142, miR-216b, miR-519d-3p, miR-1181, miR-340, miR-143-3p, miR203a-3p, miR-455, miR-15a, miR-135a and miR-202 are among tumor suppressor miRNAs that modulate proliferation and cell cycle transition in these cells. In the current paper, we will discuss the role of oncomiRs and tumor suppressor miRNAs in the evolution of pancreatic cancer. Moreover, we will summarize the application of miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic markers in pancreatic cancer. These studies have shown the ability of miRNAs to be served as non-invasive markers for pancreatic cancer.