Pathogenetic role and clinical implications of regulatory RNAs in biliary tract cancer

Ofoeyeno, N., Ekpenyong, E. and Braconi, C. (2021) Pathogenetic role and clinical implications of regulatory RNAs in biliary tract cancer. Cancers, 13(1), 12. (doi: 10.3390/cancers13010012) (PMID:33375055) (PMCID:PMC7792779)

Abstract

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is characterised by poor prognosis and low overall survival in patients. This is generally due to minimal understanding of its pathogenesis, late diagnosis and limited therapeutics in preventing or treating BTC patients. Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) are small RNAs (mRNA) that are not translated to proteins. ncRNAs were considered to be of no importance in the genome, but recent studies have shown they play essential roles in biology and oncology such as transcriptional repression and degradation, thus regulating mRNA transcriptomes. This has led to investigations into the role of ncRNAs in the pathogenesis of BTC, and their clinical implications. In this review, the mechanisms of action of ncRNA are discussed and the role of microRNAs in BTC is summarised. The scope of this review will be limited to miRNA as they have been shown to play the most significant roles in BTC progression. There is huge potential in miRNA-based biomarkers and therapeutics in BTC, but more studies, research and technological advancements are required before it can be translated into clinical practice for patients.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Braconi, Dr Chiara

Creator Roles

Braconi, C.: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing, Supervision

• Authors: Ofoeyeno, N., Ekpenyong, E., and Braconi, C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: Cancers
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6694
• ISSN (Online): 2072-6694
• Published Online: 22 December 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Cancers 13(1): 12
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License