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Published on: March 29, 2019
Noncoding RNA in bladder cancer: a specific focus upon high-risk nonmuscle invasive disease
Aidan P Noon1, James W F Catto
1aDepartment of Urology, Division of Surgery, Princess Margaret Cancer Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada bAcademic Urology Unit, The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Purpose Of Review:
Bladder cancer is a common disease whose natural history can be unpredictable. As such, there is an urgent clinical need to identify biomarkers that will improve the care of patients by allowing a more individualized approach. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a recently identified subgroup of RNAs whose mature species are not translated into proteins. Here, we review knowledge of ncRNA in bladder cancer, with a focus upon their role in high-risk nonmuscle invasive tumors.
Recent Findings:
There have been a number of articles reporting the ability of microRNAs to help evaluate patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. New long ncRNA species have been evaluated for the first time in bladder cancer. Competing endogenous RNAs and enhancer RNAs show interesting functional and regulatory effects in other cancers, but have yet to be evaluated in bladder cancer.
Summary:
Novel RNA species are increasingly being used to help prognosticate patients with bladder cancer and to understand key oncological events in the evolution of this disease. Future work is needed to validate potential clinical utility of the RNA species described.
Insights
New noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) show promise as biomarkers for bladder cancer, aiding in personalized treatment strategies for high-risk nonmuscle invasive tumors. Further research is needed to confirm their clinical utility.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Bladder cancer necessitates improved biomarkers for individualized patient care due to its unpredictable nature.
- Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), a class of RNA molecules not translated into proteins, are emerging as significant players in cancer biology.
- High-risk nonmuscle invasive bladder tumors present a specific challenge where novel diagnostic and prognostic tools are crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on the role of ncRNAs in bladder cancer.
- To focus on the specific involvement of ncRNAs in high-risk nonmuscle invasive bladder tumors.
- To highlight emerging ncRNA species and their potential clinical applications.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent articles on ncRNAs in bladder cancer.
- Analysis of studies reporting microRNA utility in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.
- Identification of novel long ncRNA species and their evaluation in bladder cancer.
Main Results:
- MicroRNAs have demonstrated potential in evaluating patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.
- New long ncRNA species have been investigated for the first time in the context of bladder cancer.
- Competing endogenous RNAs and enhancer RNAs exhibit functional roles in other cancers, warranting investigation in bladder cancer.
Conclusions:
- Novel RNA species are increasingly recognized for their role in bladder cancer prognostication.
- These RNA species are crucial for understanding key oncological events in bladder cancer development.
- Validation of the clinical utility of these novel RNA species is essential for future therapeutic advancements.
