Mesothelioma

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), in 2007 there will be about 213,000 new cases of lung cancer, and approximately 160,000 deaths.

Average five-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with lung cancer are less than 15%.

Five year survival rates for patients with advanced stage IV lung cancer are only about 5%.

The population at highest risk for lung cancer includes approximately 5 million men and women between the ages of 50 and 69 who are current or former smokers.

About microRNAs MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a recently discovered, naturally occurring form of RNAi.

These small RNAs act as protein regulators and have the potential to form the basis for a new class of diagnostics and therapeutics.

Since many diseases are caused by the abnormal activity of proteins, the ability to selectively regulate protein activity through microRNAs could provide the means to treat a wide range of human diseases.

In addition, microRNAs have been shown to have different expression levels in certain diseased versus normal tissues.

As a result, these differences potentially provide for a novel diagnostic strategy for many diseases.

MicroRNAs are thought to play a key role in the differentiation of cells into specific cell types performing various functions in the body.

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