Mechanisms and Potential of Antitumor Therapy With Natural Products Regulating Non-Coding RNAs

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a distinctive class of RNA transcripts that have received extensive attention from the global scientific community due to their intricate and important roles in tumor malignancy. The dysregulated expression of ncRNAs is closely associated with the progression of different types of cancer, suggesting that ncRNAs serve as key regulatory factors and modulate numerous cancer biomarkers. The complex interactions between regulatory ncRNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), as well as their intricate interactions with mRNAs or RNA-binding proteins, orchestrate many biological processes in tumors. Natural products, obtained from dietary or medicinal sources, are extremely safe and have stable therapeutic outcomes. These products can regulate ncRNAs, effectively inhibiting tumor cell growth and proliferation and even triggering cell death. This ability highlights that they can reduce tumor burden and enhance clinical outcomes for cancer patients. In this review we discussed the intricate mechanisms underlying ncRNAs-mediated tumor regulation and systematically highlighted the diverse antitumor applications of natural products that specifically control regulatory ncRNAs. We aimed to provide novel perspectives and methods in the field of anticancer research, focusing on the application of natural products.