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Extracellular Vesicles in Disease / Head and Neck Cancer Studies · Journal article
Human Gene · August 4, 2026
Raises a question worth testing. It does not answer one.
This narrative review synthesizes literature on miRNA roles in head and neck cancer pathobiology and proposes their potential as diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic targets. The review identifies several miRNAs with reported clinical relevance but acknowledges that translation to clinical practice is constrained by validation gaps, workflow standardization, and delivery challenges.
Narrative literature review. Literature on miRNAs in head and neck cancer across oral, laryngeal, and pharyngeal sites.
miR-21, miR-155, miR-375, and members of the miR-99 family have demonstrated significant diagnostic and prognostic value across oral, laryngeal, and pharyngeal cancers miRNAs show stability in saliva, plasma, and other body fluids, supporting application as minimally invasive biomarkers for early detection and liquid biopsy Emerging therapeutic strategies include miRNA replacement therapy, miRNA inhibition, nanotechnology-assisted delivery, and CRISPR-mediated gene modulation
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This review identifies candidate miRNAs and delivery strategies with potential for clinical translation, but emphasizes that validation, standardization, and comparative studies are needed before clinical implementation. Clinicians should view miRNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics as emerging research areas, not yet standard care.
This is a narrative review synthesizing mechanistic and translational evidence on miRNAs in head and neck cancer, raising questions about clinical utility rather than reporting new empirical results from a prospective study.
As stated by the source record.
This review identifies candidate miRNAs and delivery strategies with potential for clinical translation, but emphasizes that validation, standardization, and comparative studies are needed before clinical implementation. Clinicians should view miRNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics as emerging research areas, not yet standard care.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
What is missing. This record has no reported figures. That is a gap in the analysis, not a judgement about the study.
Head and neck cancer (HNC) remains a major global health challenge, characterized by high morbidity, mortality, and clinical heterogeneity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, have emerged as critical regulators of HNC development and progression. This review summarizes current evidence on miRNA biogenesis, dysregulation patterns, molecular mechanisms, and their clinical relevance in HNC. This narrative review is based on literature published between 2009 and 2026 identified through searches of PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, with emphasis on clinically relevant and translational studies in HNC. Aberrant expression of oncogenic and tumor-suppressive miRNAs influences key biological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, invasion, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Several miRNAs, including miR-21, miR-155, miR-375, and members of the miR-99 family, have demonstrated significant diagnostic and prognostic value across oral, laryngeal, and pharyngeal cancers. Their remarkable stability in saliva, plasma, and other body fluids supports their application as minimally invasive biomarkers for early detection, disease monitoring, and liquid biopsy-based approaches. Furthermore, emerging therapeutic strategies, such as miRNA replacement therapy, miRNA inhibition, nanotechnology-assisted delivery systems, and CRISPR-mediated gene modulation, highlight the translational potential of miRNA-based interventions. Despite their considerable promise, the clinical translation of miRNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics remains constrained by limited biomarker validation, variability in liquid biopsy workflows, delivery barriers, tumor heterogeneity, and lack of standardization. Nevertheless, ongoing advances in molecular profiling, RNA delivery systems, and precision oncology are expected to accelerate the future clinical integration of miRNA-based strategies in HNC.
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