miRNAs in breast cancer tumorigenesis (Review)

miRNAs are small, endogenous, non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate protein-coding mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. It is estimated that in humans thousands of miRNAs are expressed and more than 700 miRNAs have been described to date. About 50% of annotated human miRNAs are detected in regions of fragile sites, which are associated with cancer. The available evidence has shown that miRNAs widely participate in the development or progression of many types of cancers, including breast cancer. The role of miRNAs in breast cancer has been widely investigated; here, we will focus on what is known about the working mechanism of miRNAs in different stages of breast cancer development.