miR-206 is an independent prognostic factor and inhibits tumor invasion and migration in colorectal cancer.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play important role in a variety of biological processes, and aberrant expression of miRNA is always associated with tumor progression and invasion. However, the role of miR-206 in colorectal cancer (CRC) is still unclear. In this study, the expression of miR-206 in CRC tissue was compared to paired normal adjacent tissue, and results indicate that miRNA-206 levels are significantly lower in CRC tissue compared to control tissue. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with low miR-206 expression had significantly poorer overall survival. In addition, we found that over-expression of miR-206 can inhibit CRC cell migration and invasion. In conclusion, our results suggest that miR-206 functions as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting CRC migration and invasion. These findings suggest that miR-206 may be useful as a new potential therapeutic target for CRC.