In another study, Ling et al. [95] showed that miR-224 is an activator of metastasis and that the target of this miRNA is SMAD4. The authors concluded that an evaluation of miR-224 alone or an evaluation of miR-224 together with SMAD4 may be an independent prognostic marker in patients with CRC. Here, SMAD4 is linked to colorectal carcinoma.