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A handful of genes that influence metastases in human cancers has been identified. However, despite advances in gene therapy, the manipulation of pathogenic genes remains difficult. The profoundly important discovery that microRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression (Journal Watch Dec 31 2003) led a team from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City to examine the role of miRNAs in metastatic human breast cancer.
Through in vitro studies of 453 human miRNAs in metastatic human tumor cell lines, the team found that several miRNAs were present in much lower levels in these cells than in nonmetastatic cell lines — which suggested that they play a role in suppressing metastases. In 20 resected primary human breast cancers, patients …