{"id":{"repo_id":"westminster","oai_identifier":"oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:w7vw2"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/westminster/oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:w7vw2","repository":{"repo_id":"westminster","name":"University of Westminster","base_url":"https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/oai2"},"display":{"title":"MicroRNAs in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: New Approaches For Better Diagnosis And Therapy","abstract":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with less than an 8% 5-year survival rate, which has remained unchanged over the last 50 years. Early detection is particularly difficult due to the lack of disease-specific symptoms and reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy (used sparingly) and surgery has become the standard of care for patients with PDAC. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is the most common diagnostic biomarker; however, it is not specific enough for asymptomatic patients. MicroRNAs (miRs/miRNAs) are small non-encoding RNA molecules, which have been related with PDAC progression and metastasis. In particular, miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 have to date been shown to be highly dysregulated in human malignancies including PDAC and are involved in numerous cancer-related mechanisms such as cell growth, differentiation, metastasis, invasion, and cell death. The aim of this thesis was to examine the mode of action of miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 in vitro for improved diagnosis and treatment of PDAC and specifically, investigate the role of the oncogenic miR-21 in cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, senescence, protein content and mitochondrial function by using CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts. The findings provide promising new insights into the metastatic predisposition of PDAC through the evaluation of specific miR signature profiles (in vitro). Such miR signatures could prompt a pioneer precision medicine approach for individual PDAC cases and allow a more effective early diagnosis and control of PDAC, facilitating more effective treatment.","abstract_html":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with less than an 8% 5-year survival rate, which has remained unchanged over the last 50 years. Early detection is particularly difficult due to the lack of disease-specific symptoms and reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy (used sparingly) and surgery has become the standard of care for patients with PDAC. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is the most common diagnostic biomarker; however, it is not specific enough for asymptomatic patients. MicroRNAs (miRs/miRNAs) are small non-encoding RNA molecules, which have been related with PDAC progression and metastasis. In particular, miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 have to date been shown to be highly dysregulated in human malignancies including PDAC and are involved in numerous cancer-related mechanisms such as cell growth, differentiation, metastasis, invasion, and cell death. The aim of this thesis was to examine the mode of action of miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 in vitro for improved diagnosis and treatment of PDAC and specifically, investigate the role of the oncogenic miR-21 in cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, senescence, protein content and mitochondrial function by using CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts. The findings provide promising new insights into the metastatic predisposition of PDAC through the evaluation of specific miR signature profiles (in vitro). Such miR signatures could prompt a pioneer precision medicine approach for individual PDAC cases and allow a more effective early diagnosis and control of PDAC, facilitating more effective treatment.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mortoglou, Maria"],"institution":"University of Westminster","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"PhD thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Uysal Onganer, P.","Lange, S.","McCormick, A.L."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024","date_published":"2024","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:01:13Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:w7vw2"],"render_values":[{"text":"oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:w7vw2","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.34737/w7vw2","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Uysal Onganer, P.","Lange, S.","McCormick, A.L."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mortoglou, Maria"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Westminster"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Life Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Westminster"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/w7vw2/micrornas-in-pancreatic-ductal-adenocarcinoma-new-approaches-for-better-diagnosis-and-therapy"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/w7vw2/micrornas-in-pancreatic-ductal-adenocarcinoma-new-approaches-for-better-diagnosis-and-therapy"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis or dissertation"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["PhD thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:w7vw2"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.34737/w7vw2"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/9af7b17538673203f6e19bdd20dbf799ad3498a28f5706de7183d16cea9c2eef/8161498/Final%20Thesis_Maria%20Mortoglou%208_11_23.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with less than an 8% 5-year survival rate, which has remained unchanged over the last 50 years. Early detection is particularly difficult due to the lack of disease-specific symptoms and reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy (used sparingly) and surgery has become the standard of care for patients with PDAC. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is the most common diagnostic biomarker; however, it is not specific enough for asymptomatic patients. MicroRNAs (miRs/miRNAs) are small non-encoding RNA molecules, which have been related with PDAC progression and metastasis. In particular, miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 have to date been shown to be highly dysregulated in human malignancies including PDAC and are involved in numerous cancer-related mechanisms such as cell growth, differentiation, metastasis, invasion, and cell death. The aim of this thesis was to examine the mode of action of miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 in vitro for improved diagnosis and treatment of PDAC and specifically, investigate the role of the oncogenic miR-21 in cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, senescence, protein content and mitochondrial function by using CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts. The findings provide promising new insights into the metastatic predisposition of PDAC through the evaluation of specific miR signature profiles (in vitro). Such miR signatures could prompt a pioneer precision medicine approach for individual PDAC cases and allow a more effective early diagnosis and control of PDAC, facilitating more effective treatment."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with less than an 8% 5-year survival rate, which has remained unchanged over the last 50 years. Early detection is particularly difficult due to the lack of disease-specific symptoms and reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy (used sparingly) and surgery has become the standard of care for patients with PDAC. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is the most common diagnostic biomarker; however, it is not specific enough for asymptomatic patients. MicroRNAs (miRs/miRNAs) are small non-encoding RNA molecules, which have been related with PDAC progression and metastasis. In particular, miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 have to date been shown to be highly dysregulated in human malignancies including PDAC and are involved in numerous cancer-related mechanisms such as cell growth, differentiation, metastasis, invasion, and cell death. The aim of this thesis was to examine the mode of action of miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 in vitro for improved diagnosis and treatment of PDAC and specifically, investigate the role of the oncogenic miR-21 in cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, senescence, protein content and mitochondrial function by using CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts. The findings provide promising new insights into the metastatic predisposition of PDAC through the evaluation of specific miR signature profiles (in vitro). Such miR signatures could prompt a pioneer precision medicine approach for individual PDAC cases and allow a more effective early diagnosis and control of PDAC, facilitating more effective treatment."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["MicroRNAs in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: New Approaches For Better Diagnosis And Therapy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Uysal Onganer, P.","Lange, S.","McCormick, A.L."],"dc:creator":["Mortoglou, Maria"],"dc:date":["2024"],"dc:date.issued":["2024"],"dc:description":["Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with less than an 8% 5-year survival rate, which has remained unchanged over the last 50 years. Early detection is particularly difficult due to the lack of disease-specific symptoms and reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy (used sparingly) and surgery has become the standard of care for patients with PDAC. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is the most common diagnostic biomarker; however, it is not specific enough for asymptomatic patients. MicroRNAs (miRs/miRNAs) are small non-encoding RNA molecules, which have been related with PDAC progression and metastasis. In particular, miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 have to date been shown to be highly dysregulated in human malignancies including PDAC and are involved in numerous cancer-related mechanisms such as cell growth, differentiation, metastasis, invasion, and cell death. The aim of this thesis was to examine the mode of action of miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 in vitro for improved diagnosis and treatment of PDAC and specifically, investigate the role of the oncogenic miR-21 in cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, senescence, protein content and mitochondrial function by using CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts. The findings provide promising new insights into the metastatic predisposition of PDAC through the evaluation of specific miR signature profiles (in vitro). Such miR signatures could prompt a pioneer precision medicine approach for individual PDAC cases and allow a more effective early diagnosis and control of PDAC, facilitating more effective treatment."],"dc:description.abstract":["Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with less than an 8% 5-year survival rate, which has remained unchanged over the last 50 years. Early detection is particularly difficult due to the lack of disease-specific symptoms and reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy (used sparingly) and surgery has become the standard of care for patients with PDAC. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is the most common diagnostic biomarker; however, it is not specific enough for asymptomatic patients. MicroRNAs (miRs/miRNAs) are small non-encoding RNA molecules, which have been related with PDAC progression and metastasis. In particular, miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 have to date been shown to be highly dysregulated in human malignancies including PDAC and are involved in numerous cancer-related mechanisms such as cell growth, differentiation, metastasis, invasion, and cell death. The aim of this thesis was to examine the mode of action of miR-21, miR-221, miR-155 and miR-126 in vitro for improved diagnosis and treatment of PDAC and specifically, investigate the role of the oncogenic miR-21 in cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, senescence, protein content and mitochondrial function by using CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts. The findings provide promising new insights into the metastatic predisposition of PDAC through the evaluation of specific miR signature profiles (in vitro). Such miR signatures could prompt a pioneer precision medicine approach for individual PDAC cases and allow a more effective early diagnosis and control of PDAC, facilitating more effective treatment."],"dc:identifier":["oai:westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk:w7vw2"],"dc:identifier.doi":["https://doi.org/10.34737/w7vw2"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/9af7b17538673203f6e19bdd20dbf799ad3498a28f5706de7183d16cea9c2eef/8161498/Final%20Thesis_Maria%20Mortoglou%208_11_23.pdf"],"dc:publisher":["University of Westminster"],"dc:publisher.department":["Life Sciences"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Westminster"],"dc:relation":["https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/w7vw2/micrornas-in-pancreatic-ductal-adenocarcinoma-new-approaches-for-better-diagnosis-and-therapy"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/w7vw2/micrornas-in-pancreatic-ductal-adenocarcinoma-new-approaches-for-better-diagnosis-and-therapy"],"dc:title":["MicroRNAs in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: New Approaches For Better Diagnosis And Therapy"],"dc:type":["Thesis or dissertation"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["PhD thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:01:13Z"}