Roles of long non-coding RNAs in oesophageal cancer pathogenesis

With high morbidity and mortality internationally, oesophageal cancer is one of the most common diseases of the digestive system. The most frequent approaches to the treatment of oesophageal cancer are a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Inevitably, some individuals with oesophageal cancer fail to respond favourably to these treatments because of therapeutic resistance, with eventual unfavourable outcomes. Thus, it would be helpful if patients with oesophageal cancer learned more about the pathophysiology of the disease. Discovering early-detection biomarkers could help to identify prognostic markers. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are endogenous RNAs with more than 200 nucleotides that do not code for proteins, and these have been recognised increasingly as being important in cancer. A few of the lncRNAs have been shown to be associated with oesophageal cancer. When target gene expression is inhibited or promoted, lncRNAs can play a role in cell growth, apoptosis and metastasis, among other functions in biology, and are aberrantly produced in oesophageal cancer. Using epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is implicated in the occurrence, development and diagnosis of oesophageal cancer, lncRNAs may regulate the natural history of the disease. Thus in this article we have reviewed the biological and molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs, including their role as suppressors of tumours as well as in malignancy, in relationship to oesophageal cancer. Furthermore, we have extrapolated from this analysis some potential A lncRNA candidates for oesophageal cancer detection, prediction and treatment. Lastly, we debate both the potential and the difficulties about how lncRNAs may influence oesophageal cancer.