Page 20 - GTM-4-2

Global Translational Medicine

REVIEW ARTICLE
Perspectives on the small ribonucleic acid drugs

for pancreatic cancer

Qingqing Zhou 1 , Guoan Shen 2 , Huaying Li 2 , Haimei Chen 1 ,
and Chang Liu *
1
1 Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of
Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
2 Department of Research & Development, Beijing Young Lingzhi Health Industry Research Institute
Co., Ltd, Beijing, China

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the most lethal forms of cancer. Unfortunately,
existing drugs for PC would cause significant side effects, and the tumor may develop
resistance to these treatments. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new
drugs to provide more treatment options for PC patients. Compared to traditional
protein-targeted and DNA-based drugs, ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based therapies have
gained significant attention in recent years due to their unique physicochemical and
physiological properties. Various strategies have been developed to enhance the
metabolic stability and intracellular delivery of small RNA drugs, making them a key
focus in cancer drug development in recent years. To explore the therapeutic potential
of small RNA drugs in PC, an overview of the status of small RNA drug development is
provided, including 17 approved small RNA drugs and 43 small RNA drug candidates
in clinical trials. In addition, genetic factors involved in PC progression are examined,
*Corresponding author:
Chang Liu identifying 17 protein-coding genes and 15 microRNA genes. Finally, six strategies for
(cliu@implad.ac.cn) developing small RNA drugs for PC are discussed.
Citation: Zhou Q, Shen G, Li H,
Chen H, Liu C. Perspectives on
the small ribonucleic acid drugs for Keywords: Small ribonucleic acid drugs; Pancreatic cancer; Drug target
pancreatic cancer. Global
Transl Med. 2025;4(2):12-30.
doi: 10.36922/gtm.8247
Received: December 27, 2024 1. Introduction
Revised: February 26, 2025 Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the deadliest cancers globally, with a 5-year
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Accepted: March 6, 2025 survival rate significantly lower than that of many other cancers, such as lung cancer,
colorectal cancer, and ovarian cancer. Despite significant advances in cancer treatment
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Published online: March 19, 2025 in recent years, the treatment of PC remains extremely challenging, particularly in
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Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). completely eliminating residual tumor cells and circulating tumor cells. Traditional
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This is an Open-Access article treatment approaches, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, not only lead to
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution severe side effects but also fail to meet the needs of all patients. As a result, novel and more
License, permitting distribution, effective drugs are required to enhance survival rates and mitigate side effects. Due to
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and reproduction in any medium, the limited therapeutic options available, the research focus has shifted toward innovative
provided the original work is
properly cited. approaches to overcoming PC’s inherent resistance to treatment and aggressive nature.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience At present, ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based drugs are emerging as a promising
Publishing remains neutral with therapeutic avenue. Small RNAs, such as microRNA (miRNA) mimics and small
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regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional interfering RNA (siRNA), precisely regulate the expression of tumor-associated protein-
affiliations. coding and miRNA genes to achieve therapeutic effects. The key advantage of small RNA
Volume 4 Issue 2 (2025) 12 doi: 10.36922/gtm.8247