The Emerging Landscape of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Colorectal Cancer Metastasis

Zhiming Liao; Hui Nie; Yutong Wang; Jingjing Luo; Jianhua Zhou; Chunlin Ou

doi:10.3389/fonc.2021.641343

The Emerging Landscape of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Colorectal Cancer Metastasis

Front Oncol. 2021 Feb 25:11:641343. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.641343. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Zhiming Liao¹, Hui Nie¹, Yutong Wang¹, Jingjing Luo², Jianhua Zhou^{1

3}, Chunlin Ou^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
² Teaching and Research Room of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical School of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
³ National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common gastrointestinal cancers, with extremely high rates of morbidity and mortality. The main cause of death in CRC is distant metastasis; it affects patient prognosis and survival and is one of the key challenges in the treatment of CRC. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a group of non-coding RNA molecules with more than 200 nucleotides. Abnormal lncRNA expression is closely related to the occurrence and progression of several diseases, including cancer. Recent studies have shown that numerous lncRNAs play pivotal roles in the CRC metastasis, and reversing the expression of these lncRNAs through artificial means can reduce the malignant phenotype of metastatic CRC to some extent. This review summarizes the major mechanisms of lncRNAs in CRC metastasis and proposes lncRNAs as potential therapeutic targets for CRC and molecular markers for early diagnosis.

Keywords: cancer metastasis; colorectal cancer; lncRNAs; markers; signaling pathways; therapy.

Publication types

Review