Abstract
Oral cancer is one of the leading malignant tumors worldwide. Despite the advent of multidisciplinary approaches, the overall prognosis of patients with oral cancer is poor, mainly due to late diagnosis. There is an urgent need to develop valid biomarkers for early detection and effective therapies. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recognized as key elements of gene regulation, with pivotal roles in various physiological and pathological processes, including cancer. Over the past few years, an exponentially growing number of lncRNAs have been identified and linked to tumorigenesis and prognosis outcomes in oral cancer, illustrating their emerging roles in oral cancer progression and the associated signaling pathways. Herein, we aim to summarize the most recent advances made concerning oral cancer-associated lncRNA, and their expression, involvement, and potential clinical impact, reported to date, with a specific focus on the lncRNA-mediated molecular regulation in oncogenic signaling cascades and oral malignant progression, while exploring their potential, and challenges, for clinical applications as biomarkers or therapeutic targets for oral cancer.
Highlights
Oral cancer, one of the most common malignancies worldwide and a leading cause of mortality in certain regions, is currently a major public health issue
Over 90% of oral malignant tumors originate from the squamous cells [5,6,7] and are collectively known as oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which can be further divided into three different subsites: buccal mucosal SCC (BMSCC), tongue SCC (TSCC), and lip SCC (LSCC)
With the advent of various genomic technologies, profiling investigations of Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in clinical tissue samples have revealed the key role played by lncRNAs in oral tumorigenesis; filling current research gaps in our understanding of cancer biology
Summary
One of the most common malignancies worldwide and a leading cause of mortality in certain regions, is currently a major public health issue. Transcriptional, and post-transcriptional levels, through interaction with other bio-macromolecules, such as chromatin DNA, RNA, and proteins, a series of lncRNAs have been shown to be capable of regulating chromatin remodeling, as well as RNA splicing, stability, modification, and translation, by acting as decoy, signals, guides, scaffolds, and sponges [13,16] With such critical multi-functional roles in gene regulation, it is not surprising that an expanding number of dysregulated lncRNAs have been associated with cancer and demonstrated to be the driving force of malignant transformation or suppression. Over the last few years, the advent of high-throughput sequencing techniques has enabled identification of a continuously rising amount of dysregulated lncRNAs associated with oral cancer [17,18] Among these transcripts, only a few have been thoroughly investigated for their mechanisms of action, whereas the functional details of most remain largely uncharacterized [19,20,21,22]. Sci. 2021, 22, 4903 species in pivotal oncogenic signaling pathways (Figure 2) and the perspectives of these lncRNAs for possible clinical applications
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