Potential role of miR-139-5p in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapy

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of protein-coding genes by partially binding to specific target sites of mRNAs. miRNAs perform important functions in complicated cellular biological processes and their abnormal expression is involved in various disorders, including cancer. Among the miRNAs, differential expression of miR-139-5p serves a significant role in tumorigenesis, metastasis and recurrence, thus suggesting that it may potentially be used as a promising biomarker for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. miR-139-5p is expected to serve as a biomarker to eventually be implemented in a clinical setting. In the present review, we focus on the importance of miR-139-5p in cancer, summarize the association between miR-139-5p expression level and diagnosis and prognosis, and discuss the potential therapeutic implications for the future.