Urinary MicroRNAs as Biomarkers of Urological Cancers: A Systematic Review

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as biomarkers for the detection and prognosis of cancers due to their inherent stability and resilience. To summarize the evidence regarding the role of urinary miRNAs (umiRNAs) in the detection, prognosis, and therapy of genitourinary cancers, we performed a systematic review of the most important scientific databases using the following keywords: (urinary miRNA) AND (prostate cancer); (urinary miRNA) AND (bladder cancer); (urinary miRNA) AND (renal cancer); (urinary miRNA) AND (testicular cancer); (urinary miRNA) AND (urothelial cancer). Of all, 1364 articles were screened. Only original studies in the English language on human specimens were considered for inclusion in our systematic review. Thus, a convenient sample of 60 original articles was identified. UmiRNAs are up- or downregulated in prostate cancer and may serve as potential non-invasive molecular biomarkers. Several umiRNAs have been identified as diagnostic biomarkers of urothelial carcinoma and bladder cancer (BC), allowing us to discriminate malignant from nonmalignant forms of hematuria. UmiRNAs could serve as therapeutic targets or recurrence markers of non-muscle-invasive BC and could predict the aggressivity and prognosis of muscle-invasive BC. In renal cell carcinoma, miRNAs have been identified as predictors of tumor detection, aggressiveness, and progression to metastasis. UmiRNAs could play an important role in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of urological cancers.

Role of Exosomal Non-Coding RNA in the Tumour Microenvironment of Genitourinary System Tumours

“…87 Certain pathway components can be used as biomarkers for renal cell carcinoma. 88,89 Understanding the interactions between cells in the tumor microenvironment and cancer cells may provide new ideas for the prognostic and predictive characterization of RCC patients and for future drug development [90][91][92] .…”

ALYREF m5C RNA methylation reader predicts bladder cancer prognosis by regulating the tumor immune microenvironment

“…[ 2 ] Distinct proportions of genome subclones result in cellular and molecular heterogeneity in BLCA, which affects both clinical outcomes and therapeutic responses. [ 3 , 4 ] Despite extensive research and considerable progress in diagnosis, clinical interventions, and prognostic assessment for bladder cancer in recent decades, including: diagnostic tools such as artificial intelligence detection, [ 5 ] Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers in Urine, [ 6 ] discovery of noncoding RNA serum circulating biomarkers, [ 7 , 8 ] circulating tumor marker assays, [ 9 ] clinical interventions such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, [ 10 ] and prognostic assessment such as systemic combining inflammatory score [ 11 ] and Modified Glasgow Prognostic Score, [ 12 ] the 5-year survival rate remains low. [ 13 ] Consequently, developing a new noninvasive technology to aid clinicians in decision-making is critical.…”

Expression of S100A16 Is Associated with Biological Aggressiveness and Poor Prognosis in Patients with Bladder Cancer Who Underwent Radical Cystectomy

“…Many biomarkers such as urinary microRNA have been evaluated as potential biomarkers of BC, but none of them have been established to replace cystoscopy and cytology. The study of biomarkers is a developing landscape [9][10][11].…”