Cuproptosis-related circulating non-coding RNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in oncology

Cuproptosis is a recently described copper-dependent form of regulated cell death linked to mitochondrial metabolic stress and is emerging as a biologically relevant pathway in cancer. Circulating noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs and circular RNAs, can be quantified in body fluids and are potential liquid biopsy markers in laboratory medicine. This review evaluates the diagnostic and prognostic utility of cuproptosis-related circulating ncRNAs across human malignancies, with an emphasis on their relevance to clinical chemistry and diagnostic laboratory medicine. We synthesize current evidence linking these circulating ncRNAs to key regulators of cuproptosis, tumor stage, treatment response, and survival outcomes. We further examine their potential roles in early detection, differential diagnosis, risk stratification, and longitudinal disease monitoring, including their value relative to conventional tumor markers. The review highlights laboratory factors affecting clinical implementation, including specimen matrix selection (serum, plasma, and extracellular vesicle-associated fractions), preanalytical variability, normalization strategies, and cross-platform analytical validation. We also discuss how multimodal diagnostic models, artificial intelligence, and data-driven analytical frameworks may improve biomarker interpretation and support standardization. Overall, translating cuproptosis-related ncRNA signatures into routine diagnostic laboratory practice will require analytically validated workflows, standardized reporting, and prospective clinical validation. This review provides a laboratory medicine-focused framework for understanding the opportunities and current limitations of cuproptosis-related circulating ncRNAs as emerging biomarkers in oncology.