Circulating MicroRNAs in Small-bowel Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Potential Tool for Diagnosis and Assessment of Effectiveness of Surgical Resection.

Objective: To discover serum-based microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers for small-bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNET) to help guide clinical decisions.

Background: MiRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules implicated in the initiation and progression of many cancers. MiRNAs are remarkably stable in bodily fluids, and can potentially be translated into clinically useful biomarkers.

TP53 regulates miRNA association with AGO2 to remodel the miRNA-mRNA interaction network.

DNA damage activates TP53-regulated surveillance mechanisms that are crucial in suppressing tumorigenesis. TP53 orchestrates these responses directly by transcriptionally modulating genes, including microRNAs (miRNAs), and by regulating miRNA biogenesis through interacting with the DROSHA complex. However, whether the association between miRNAs and AGO2 is regulated following DNA damage is not yet known.