MicroRNAs and cancer

The review is devoted to analyzing the data on the role of microRNAs in human tumor progression. The following topics are thoroughly discussed in the review: (1) general characteristics of microRNAs; (2) their expression pattern in human tumors and specificity of this expression; (3) the possible role of microRNAs as oncogenes and tumor growth suppressors; and (4) their participation in the processes responsible for the transformed phenotype of tumor cells; and (5) the role of microRNAs in early diagnostics of the disease and its prognosis.