Published online Oct 21, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i39.8735
Peer-review started: March 20, 2016
First decision: June 20, 2016
Revised: July 5, 2016
Accepted: August 23, 2016
Article in press: August 23, 2016
Published online: October 21, 2016
Processing time: 217 Days and 6.1 Hours
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a newly discovered class of ncRNA molecules, have been widely accepted as crucial regulators of various diseases including cancer. Increasing numbers of studies have demonstrated that lncRNAs are involved in diverse physiological and pathophysiological processes, such as cell cycle progression, chromatin remodeling, gene transcription, and posttranscriptional processing. Aberrant expression of lncRNAs frequently occurs in gastrointestinal cancer and plays emerging roles in cancer metastasis. In this review, we focus on and outline the regulatory functions of recently identified metastasis-associated lncRNAs, and evaluate the potential roles of lncRNAs as novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in gastrointestinal cancer.
Core tip: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a newly discovered class of non-coding RNA molecules, have been widely identified as crucial regulators of various diseases including cancer. Aberrant expression of lncRNAs frequently occurs in gastrointestinal cancer and plays emerging roles in cancer metastasis. We focus on and outline the regulatory functions of recently identified metastasis-associated lncRNAs and evaluate the potential roles of lncRNAs as novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in gastrointestinal cancer.