Clinical significance of miR-15 and miR-16 in ovarian cancer

Due to the fact that ovarian cancer is frequently late symptomatic and, therefore, detected too late, it is the most lethal malignant gynecological cancer. Approximately 70% of patients are diagnosed with advanced FIGO stages (III or IV) and have a 5-year survival rate of less than 40%, whereas patients who are diagnosed with FIGO stage I or II have a longer 5-year survival rate of 70–90% (1). Treatment failure in ovarian cancer patients caused by the emergence of chemo-resistance towards cytotoxic drugs, such as cisplatin or carboplatin, is attributable to its high mortality. In particular in advanced tumor, low response to platinum-based chemotherapy may result in poor prognosis and recurrence (2). Therefore, new therapies are urgently needed to overcome chemo-resistance in treatment of cancer. Since microRNAs (miRNAs) vary in expression during the course of disease and therapy, they could represent potential candidates for replacement or targeted therapy (3).