Gene suppression by siRNA to induce apoptosis and inhibit tumor growth on neuroblastoma models: A systematic review

Neuroblastoma (NB) is an embryonic tumor of the sympathetic nervous system and, based on its histology, is thought to arise from a failure of sympathoadrenal 5 progenitor cells to differentiate. Despite aggressive and multi-modal therapies (i.e chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, and stem cell transplantation), the effective treatment of advanced NB is still a challenge for pediatric oncology and so alternative treatments are needed. Molecular-based or gene therapy, especially silencing RNA (siRNA) is currently becoming popular for various kinds of therapies, including for neuroblastoma. The use of siRNA therapy in neuroblastoma models has been shown to reduce tumor volume, by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting tumor growth. This study aimed to prove that gene suppression by siRNA can induce apoptosis and inhibit tumorigenesis in neuroblastoma models. This study is a non-experimental study with a systematic review method without being followed by meta-analysis, which is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). The results of the systematic review showed that there were four articles that showed the effect of siRNA on gene expression levels, and gene silencing by siRNA can induce apoptosis and inhibit tumorigenesis. Of the four articles used, all used different target genes, using CDC20, Bcl-2, MYCN and survivin.