Recent development of cutting edge research found that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) plays important roles in carcinogenesis and progression. In Southeast Asia and North Africa, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common aggressive squamous cell carcinoma. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is most frequently occurring in males. However, nasopharyngeal carcinoma is caused by a combination of several factors as viral, environmental factors, and heredity. Till now, the potential pathway or mechanism of NPC is not well known. In our present review, we strongly emphasized on long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and its significant role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. It has been showed that lncRNAs regulate the development and progression of different types of cancers, including NPC. In addition, it has been found that chromatin organization, transcriptional and post-transcriptional events are regulated by lncRNAs. Our present review summarizes the roles of lncRNAs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and provides an overview of the feasibility of lncRNAs as diagnosis, prognosis and potential treatment for NPC patients.
Keywords: biomarker; lncRNAs; nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); therapeutic targets; tumorigenesis.