It is suggested that miR-23a, acting as an oncogenic regulator by directly targeting APAF 1 in pancreatic cancer, is a useful potential biomarker in diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer.
By miRNA-network analysis, tissue-specific patterns of miRNA deregulation were traced: the driving miRNAs were miR-195, miR-1280, miR-140-3p and miR-1246 in colorectal tumors, and miR-103, miR-23a and miR-15b in pancreatic cancers.