AUTHOR=Leidinger Petra, Keller Andreas, Meese Eckart TITLE=MicroRNAs – Important Molecules in Lung Cancer Research JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=2 YEAR=2012 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2011.00104 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2011.00104 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=MicroRNAs (miRNA) are important regulators of gene expression. They are involved in many physiological processes ensuring the cellular homeostasis of human cells. Alterations of the miRNA expression have increasingly been associated with pathophysiologic changes of cancer cells making miRNAs currently to one of the most analyzed molecules in cancer research. Here, we provide an overview of miRNAs in lung cancer. Specifically, we address biological functions of miRNAs in lung cancer cells, miRNA signatures generated from tumor tissue and from patients’ body fluids, the potential of miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for lung cancer, and its role as therapeutic target.