Pathways in cancer and Wnt signalling pathways were ranked first in the KEGG and Panther pathway lists, respectively, highlighting the essential roles of miRNAs in cancer development. Third, there should be adequate information about the pattern of expression of the miRNAs in different types of specimens. It has been indicated that circulating miRNAs

in plasma could be more tissue-specific than tumour-specific [41, 42]. In the context of the vast inconsistency between tissue-based and plasma-based results [23], we focused on NVP-AUY922 studies that analysed miRNA expression between PDAC tissues and noncancerous pancreatic tissues in humans. Last but not least, rigorous validation and demonstration of reproducibility in an independent cohort of patients are necessary to confirm the diagnostic value of miRNAs. With this in mind, we experimentally validated 10 candidate miRNAs in PDAC samples and confirmed that these 10 miRNAs were differentially expressed between PDAC tissues and noncancerous pancreatic tissues. Considering that miRNA expression is able to successfully discriminate normal from cancerous

pancreatic tissues, it is tempting to speculate this website that miRNAs could also predict cancer prognosis. However, our results do not exclude the possibility that other miRNAs are I-BET-762 chemical structure associated with prognosis, as we only studied a meta-signature of 10 miRNAs in a limited number of PDAC samples (n=78). The main reason for the possible association between miRNAs not within this meta-signature and prognosis may centre on the relatively small sample size in our study and others [25, 27]. It is quite unrealistic to include all the miRNAs in Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, as it would be very laborious and time-consuming. Thus, commonly, Methocarbamol only the candidate miRNAs with the greatest fold changes are included. As mentioned above, although there were no strong disagreements between the individual miRNA profiling studies, the top lists varied considerably from study to study. To remedy this problem, it was critical to identify

the most differentially expressed miRNAs. We used a meta-review approach, which combines the results of several individual studies to increase statistical power and to subsequently resolve the inconsistency among different profiling studies. A meta-signature of seven up- and three down-regulated miRNAs was identified. Then, in independent patient samples, miR-21, miR-31 and miR-375 were found to be associated with cancer prognosis. From our point of view, great caution should be taken in future research in this field. To start, sample sizes should be increased to minimise random sampling error. Next, as it is impossible for every researcher to use the same platform, reliable microarray platforms should be employed in all experiments.