Decreased serum exosomal miR-29a expression and its clinical significance in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: Aberrant levels of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are potential biomarkers in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) diagnosis and therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum exosomal miR-29a expression as a non-invasive biomarker for PTC diagnosis and prognosis.

Methods: Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was applied to measure serum exosomal miR-29a expression levels in blood samples of 119 patients with PTC and 100 control subjects.

Downregulating hypoxia-inducible factor-2α improves the efficacy of doxorubicin in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The hypoxic microenvironment inside solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is a major cause of tumor resistance to chemotherapy. The recently identified hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2 executes the hypoxia response. Its expression feature and transcriptional targets indicate a possible dominance of HIF-2 in regulating genes in HCC.