Targeting miR-21 in glioma: A small RNA with big potential

Importance of the field: Glioma therapies have produced relatively small improvements over the past decade, highlighting an important need to identify novel ways to target this disease. Targeted therapies against single activated protein kinases have proven effective in some cancers including gastrointestinal stromal cancer and colon cancer, but not yet in gliomas where multiple pathways and targets may be involved. MicroRNAs are emerging as key regulators of multiple pathways involved in cancer development and progression and may become the next targeted therapies in glioma. Areas covered in this review: This review covers the basics of microRNA biology and specifically focuses on the roles of miR-21 in glioma and its potential as target for glioma therapy. What the reader will gain: This review will provide the reader with an in depth understanding of how miR-21 functions in glioma. We also review the current state of studies designed to specifically target miR-21 as a potential future therapeutic. Take home message: Identifying novel targets for the treatment of glioma is critical for advancing the current state of the field. MicroRNAs provide a novel target; and in glioma, targeting miR-21 may have broad consequences for the tumor that make it an attractive potential therapeutic.