Long non-coding RNAs in thyroid cancer: Biological functions and clinical significance

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignant tumor with rapidly increasing incidence in recent decades. Although the majority of thyroid cancers are relatively indolent, some cases still have a risk of developing into more aggressive and lethal forms of thyroid cancers. Similar to other malignancies, thyroid tumorigenesis is a multistep process involving the accumulation of a large number of genetic and epigenetic alterations. Thus, determination of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis is an urgent need for thyroid cancer treatment. Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) have recently been demonstrated to participate in cancer progression. However, their role and molecular mechanism in thyroid cancer remain largely unclear. In this review, we focus on the dysregulation of lncRNAs in thyroid cancer, summarize the latest findings regarding the functions and mechanism of lncRNAs in thyroid cancer, and discuss their potential clinical significance in diagnosis and prognosis of thyroid cancer.