Song Hye Kyung, Kim Sun Young
Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Technology, Duksung Women's University, Seoul, Korea.
J Cancer Prev. 2021 Jun 30;26(2):98-109. doi: 10.15430/JCP.2021.26.2.98.
The functions of a large number of non-coding genes in human DNA have yet to be accurately identified. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) measuring 10 kb or less in length regulates transcription or post-transcriptional events. The lncRNAs have attracted increased attention of researchers in recent years. In this review, we summarize the recently published lncRNAs which are known to influence cancer development and progression. We also discuss recent studies investigating tumor-specific lncRNA expression. These lncRNAs provide very useful information that allows prediction of the degree of malignancy and a survival rate in cancer patients as clinically relevant biomarkers. Because symptoms and progression of cancer differ from onset to death between males and females, it is important to consider the gender of the patient when diagnosing cancer and predicting the progression. Considering the importance of gender difference, we also examine the influence of sex hormones involved in the expression and regulation of lncRNAs as biomarkers. Many of the lncRNAs examined in this review have been studied in cancers occurring in the female or male reproductive organs, but the association between lncRNAs and sex hormones has also been reported in common organs such as the lung, renal and colon. Although lncRNAs have not yet been widely used as definitive cancer indicators, recent studies have demonstrated the potential role of lncRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets reflecting sex-specificity in a number of different cancers.
人类DNA中大量非编码基因的功能尚未得到准确识别。长度在10 kb及以下的长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）可调控转录或转录后事件。近年来，lncRNA引起了研究人员越来越多的关注。在本综述中，我们总结了最近发表的已知影响癌症发生和进展的lncRNA。我们还讨论了最近关于肿瘤特异性lncRNA表达的研究。这些lncRNA提供了非常有用的信息，可作为临床相关生物标志物预测癌症患者的恶性程度和生存率。由于癌症的症状和进展在男性和女性从发病到死亡的过程中有所不同，因此在诊断癌症和预测病情进展时考虑患者的性别很重要。考虑到性别差异的重要性，我们还研究了作为生物标志物的lncRNA表达和调控过程中涉及的性激素的影响。本综述中研究的许多lncRNA已在发生于女性或男性生殖器官的癌症中进行了研究，但lncRNA与性激素之间的关联在肺、肾和结肠等常见器官中也有报道。尽管lncRNA尚未广泛用作确定性的癌症指标，但最近的研究已证明lncRNA在多种不同癌症中作为反映性别特异性的生物标志物和治疗靶点的潜在作用。
