ReviewMolecular therapy. Nucleic acids2020
The Promising Role of miR-21 as a Cancer Biomarker and Its Importance in RNA-Based Therapeutics.
Review in Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 282 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
282 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 512 citations in OpenAlex.
- Circulating Extracellular Vesicle Biomarkers as Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers of Liver Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Pooled it
- The Prognostic Power of miR-21 in Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- miRNA-21 and miRNA-27b Expression in Saliva of Patients with Oral Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Role of Cancer Associated Fibroblast (CAF) derived miRNAs on head and neck malignancies microenvironment: a systematic review.BMC cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Diagnostic and Prognostic Accuracy of MiRNAs in Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Extracellular vesicle biomarkers in circulation for colorectal cancer detection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC cancer · 2024Pooled it
- Circulating miR-19, miR-27a, and miR-200c as novel biomarkers for resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer patients: a pilot study.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Phosphatase of Regenerating Liver-3 Expression Correlates With PTENP1/miR-21 and miR-17/PTEN Dysregulation in Endometrial Adenocarcinoma Progression.World journal of oncology · 2026Article
- A Novel Serum miRNA Panel (miR-145, miR-34a, and miR-222) for Schwannoma Diagnosis.Biochemical genetics · 2026Article
- Salivary miRNAs along with p53 and EGFR in oral exfoliated cells: a pilot study on candidate noninvasive biomarkers for the early detection of oral cancer in tobacco users.Molecular biology reports · 2026Article
- MicroRNAs and Other Small RNAs in Liquid Biopsies as Biomarkers for Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Unifying and unique roles of non-coding RNA biomarkers in liver and heart fibrosis.Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie · 2026Review
- Pleiotropic Roles of FBXO11 in Tumorigenesis: Implications for Targeted Therapy.Cancer science · 2026Review
- The human breast milk microbiome: a landscape review of its composition, origins, and impact on infant health.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- Panel-Wide Screening of Tumour Cells of Diverse Histogenesis for Responsiveness to Silencing of miR-21, miR-17, and miR-155 by Mesyl Phosphoramidate Antisense Oligonucleotides.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Review
- Orchestrating organotropism: miRNA-driven mechanisms of site-specific metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer (Review).Oncology letters · 2026Review
- Role of non-coding RNAs in OOncology letters · 2026Review
- MicroRNA-Directed Biomarkers and Breast Cancer Therapeutics-Potential to Advance Personalised Approaches in Clinical Trials.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- In vitro evidence that perampanel modulates miR-21-5p and miR-29a-3p associated with anti-glioma effects.Discover oncology · 2026Article
222 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
MicroRNAs are small noncoding transcripts that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression via base-pairing complementarity. Their role in cancer can be related to tumor suppression or oncogenic function. Moreover, they have been linked to processes recognized as hallmarks of cancer, such as apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, and proliferation. Particularly, one of the first oncomiRs found upregulated in a variety of cancers, such as gliomas, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer, was microRNA-21 (miR-21). Some of its target genes associated with cancer are PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog), PDCD4 (programmed cell death protein 4), RECK (reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with Kazal motifs), and STAT3 (signal transducer activator of transcription 3). As a result, miR-21 has been proposed as a plausible diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, as well as a therapeutic target for several types of cancer. Currently, research and clinical trials to inhibit miR-21 through anti-miR-21 oligonucleotides and ADM-21 are being conducted. As all of the evidence suggests, miR-21 is involved in carcinogenic processes; therefore, inhibiting it could have effects on more than one type of cancer. However, whether miR-21 can be used as a tissue-specific biomarker should be analyzed with caution. Consequently, the purpose of this review is to outline the available information and recent advances regarding miR-21 as a potential biomarker in the clinical setting and as a therapeutic target in cancer to highlight its importance in the era of precision medicine.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.