Author:
Qu Le,Chen Cheng,Wu Meijuan,Zhou Yulin
Abstract
Circulating lncRNAs (noncoding RNAs of 200 nucleotides or more) have been proposed as a new class of potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Circulating lncRNAs seem more reliable than other circulating nucleic acids due to their high stability in the blood. In this chapter, we will describe the characteristics of circulating lncRNAs; summarize the role of circulating lncRNAs as potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and cancer prognosis, respectively, focusing on their sensitivity and specificity as biomarkers; provide recommendations for the detection of circulating lncRNA levels; and finally discuss challenges encountered.