MicroRNAs: Potential Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets for Breast Cancer

Since the discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) as crucial regulators of both physiologic and pathologic processes in human diseases, the application of miRNAs as a suitable diagnostic and therapeutic tool for breast cancer has been extensively explored. Mounting evidence indicates that miRNAs are dysregulated in breast cancer. More recently, the utilization of archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) breast specimens has become a powerful resource for miRNA expression profiling in breast cancer and surrounding noncancerous breast tissue. In this review, we focus on the role of miRNA dysregulation in breast cancer and highlight the advantages for the use of FFPE samples as a potential clinical resource for identifying and validating tumor suppressor and oncogenic miRNAs involved in breast tumorigenesis, metastasis, and epigenetic regulation.