PCAT1: An oncogenic lncRNA in diverse cancers and a putative therapeutic target

The critical roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the regulation of diverse biological functions has potentiated them as cancer biomarkers. Among these transcripts is the prostate cancer associated transcript 1 (PCAT1) which has been initially shown to exert oncogenic roles in prostate cancer. Further studies revealed its similar roles in various kinds of human malignancies including both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Animal studies have shown that down-regulation of this lncRNA can attenuate tumor growth in a wide array of cancers including prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma lung cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Studies aimed at identification of diagnostic value of this lncRNA in human cancers reported various values ranging from 0.66 to 0.89 in diverse cancers with the best value reported in multiple myeloma. This lncRNA has a number of putative functional genomic variants such as rs1902432, rs2632159, rs1026411, rs710886, rs16901904 and rs710886 which can modify expression or function of PCAT1 thus altering the risk of human cancers. Based on aberrant expression of PCAT1 in malignancies of diverse origins, this lncRNA can be regarded as a therapeutic target in a vast array of cancers. Thus, modalities for efficient reduction of its expression would be beneficial for several patients.