Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Sep 15, 2018; 10(9): 260-270
Published online Sep 15, 2018. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v10.i9.260
Emerging role of long non-coding RNA in the development of gastric cancer
Hang Yu, Long Rong
Hang Yu, Long Rong, Department of Endoscopic Center, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China
Author contributions: Yu H designed the study, searched the scientific literature for the latest developments in the field, wrote and edited the manuscript; Rong L revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Long Rong, MD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Department of Endoscopic Center, Peking University First Hospital, No.8 Xishiku Street, Beijing 100034, China. ronglong8@sina.com
Telephone: +86-10-83572437 Fax: +86-10-83572437
Received: March 28, 2018
Peer-review started: March 29, 2018
First decision: April 26, 2018
Revised: June 14, 2018
Accepted: June 26, 2018
Article in press: June 27, 2018
Published online: September 15, 2018
Abstract

Gastric cancer is a common, worldwide malignancy and has a poor prognosis due to late diagnosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a significant subtype of RNA molecules with a length longer than 200 nucleotides (nt) that rarely encode proteins. In recent decades, deregulation of lncRNAs has been shown to be involved in tumorigenesis and tumor progression in various human carcinomas, including gastric cancer. Accumulating evidence has shown that some lncRNAs may function as diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for gastric cancer. Thus, exploring the specific functions of lncRNAs will help both gain a better understanding of the pathogenesis and develop novel treatments for gastric cancer. In this review, we highlight the expression and functional roles of lncRNAs in gastric cancer, and analyze the potential applications of lncRNAs as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets.

Keywords: Function, Tumorigenesis, Gastric cancer, Therapeutic target, Long non-coding RNAs, Diagnostic marker

Core tip: Gastric cancer is a common, worldwide malignancy that has a poor prognosis. The promising regulatory potential of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tumorigenesis and cancer development, including gastric cancer, has been widely demonstrated. Thus, exploring the function of lncRNAs can help to both gain a better understanding of the pathogenesis and develop novel treatments for gastric cancer. In this review, we aim to elucidate the expression patterns and functional roles of lncRNAs in gastric cancer, and analyze the latent applications of lncRNAs as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets.