Comprehensive Review on the Clinical Relevance of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Cutaneous Melanoma

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 3; p. 1166
• Main Authors: De Falco, Vincenzo, Napolitano, Stefania, Esposito, Daniela, Guerrera, Luigi Pio, Ciardiello, Davide, Formisano, Luigi, Troiani, Teresa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25-01-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor; Body Fluids; Cancer therapies; cancer therapy; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell cycle; Cell growth; Cell-Free Nucleic Acids; Cyclin-dependent kinases; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diagnostic systems; DNA; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Genomes; Genomics; Humans; Immunotherapy; Kinases; lncRNA; Medical prognosis; MEK inhibitors; Melanoma; Melanoma - diagnosis; Melanoma - genetics; Melanoma - therapy; Melanoma, Cutaneous Malignant; Metastases; Metastasis; Mutation; Neoplasm Staging; Non-coding RNA; Prognosis; Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf - genetics; Review; RNA polymerase; RNA, Long Noncoding - genetics; Skin cancer; Skin Neoplasms - diagnosis; Skin Neoplasms - genetics; Skin Neoplasms - therapy; Therapeutic targets; Tumorigenesis; Tumors; Young adults; cancer therapy; skin cancer; melanoma; lncRNA; biomarkers
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22031166

Cutaneous melanoma is considered a rare tumor, although it is one of the most common cancers in young adults and its incidence has risen in the last decades. Targeted therapy, with BRAF and MEK inhibitors, and immunotherapy revolutionized the treatment of metastatic melanoma but there is still a considerable percentage of patients with primary or acquired resistance to these therapies. Recently, oncology researchers directed their attention at the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in different types of cancers, including melanoma. lncRNAs are RNA transcripts, initially considered "junk sequences", that have been proven to have a crucial role in the fine regulation of physiological and pathological processes of different tissues. Furthermore, they are more expressed in tumors than protein-coding genes, constituting perfect candidates either as biomarkers (diagnostic, prognostic, predictive) or as therapeutic targets. In this work, we reviewed all the literature available for lncRNA in melanoma, elucidating all the potential roles in this tumor.