Long Noncoding RNA in Digestive Tract Cancers: Function, Mechanism, and Potential Biomarker

Abstract

Abstract Digestive tract cancers (DTCs) are a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Current therapeutic tools for advanced stage DTCs have limitations, and patients with early stage DTCs frequently have a missed diagnosis due to shortage of efficient biomarkers. Consequently, it is necessary to develop novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and novel therapeutic targets for treatment of DTCs. In recent years, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of noncoding RNAs with >200 nucleotides, have been shown to be aberrantly expressed in DTCs and to have an important role in DTC development: the expression profiles of lncRNAs strongly correlated with poor survival of patients with DTCs, and lncRNAs acted as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in DTC progression. In this review, we summarized the functional lncRNAs and expounded on their regulatory mechanisms in DTCs. Implications for Practice: Digestive tract cancers (DTCs) are a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It is necessary to exploit novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and novel therapeutic targets for treatment of DTCs. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of noncoding RNAs with approximately 200 nucleotides to 100,000 bases, participate in the progression of a variety of diseases. This review summarizes functional lncRNAs, which were shown to serve as novel biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of DTCs and to act as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in DTC development. In addition, the potential mechanism of functional lncRNAs in DTCs is highlighted.