Identification of microRNA Targeting Cancer Gene of Colorectal Carcinoma in Caucasian Population

Colorectal carcinoma or colon cancer (CRC) is the 3
^rd
most common cancers and one of the most leading cause of death worldwide. Current advance in diagnosis and chemotherapy able to improve the survival rate of patients in early-stage of CRC, however, the same treatment fails to achieve satisfactory effect in a patient with advanced stage CRC. Study of microRNAs (miRNAs) currently being developed in order to improve the outcomes of cancer treatment. miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs which perform a critical role in the regulation of gene expression and may act as tumor suppressors in various type of cancer including in CRC. The focus in this study is to identify various miRNAs and their target genes particularly in Caucasian population based on the expression data obtained from NIH GDC Portal using TCGA-Assembler. The data were filtered and differentially expressed miRNAs (DEM) and genes (DEG) were determined. Afterward, a correlation test was applied to expression data by using MATLAB. Statistical analysis of expression data identified potential miRNAs targeting cancer genes including hsa-mir-141, hsa-mir-200a, and hsa-mir-7-1. Further validation analysis can be conducted using RNAhybrid. Suggestions for future study including comparing the miRNA and target genes from 2 different populations (races) or in general populations.