Abstract
Brain tumors are one of the most frightening ailments that afflict human beings worldwide. They are among the most lethal of all adult and pediatric solid tumors. The unique cell-intrinsic and microenvironmental properties of neural tissues are some of the most critical obstacles that researchers face in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors. Intensifying the search for potential new molecular markers in order to develop new effective treatments for patients might resolve this issue. Recently, the world of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has become a field of intensive research since the discovery of their essential impact on carcinogenesis. Some of the most promising diagnostic and therapeutic regulatory RNAs are long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). Many recent reports indicate the important role of these molecules in brain tumor development, as well as their implications in metastasis. In the following review, we summarize the current state of knowledge about regulatory RNAs, namely lncRNA, circRNAs, and snoRNAs, and their impact on the development of brain tumors in children and adults with particular emphasis on malignant primary brain tumors—gliomas and medulloblastomas (MB). We also provide an overview of how these different ncRNAs may act as biomarkers in these tumors and we present their potential clinical implications.
Highlights
Every year, the global number of cancer cases reaches over 18 million, of which it is estimated that more than half result in death
To consider the possible roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circRNAs, and small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) in various aspects of brain tumor biology, we summarize existing knowledge in the context of the hallmarks of cancer presenting the non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) involvement in processes like the cell cycle and apoptosis, angiogenesis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and chemoresistance, as well as their implication in cancer stem cells regulation
NcRNAs constitute a promising target of molecular medicine; the expression pattern of RNAs in brain tumors remains unstable and variable, it is essential to search for suitable candidates that may be used as therapeutic or diagnostic tools
Summary
The global number of cancer cases reaches over 18 million, of which it is estimated that more than half result in death. High-grade gliomas are characterized by uncontrolled proliferation, invasiveness, necrosis formation, lack of apoptosis, and dynamic angiogenesis [3] These features, combined with difficult access to the tumor, mean that despite the combination of surgical treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy followed by Stupp protocol, only limited therapeutic success is expressed—the median survival in the case of patients diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM)—the most aggressive type of brain cancer—is still less than two years [4]. In this article, we present the collected state of knowledge covering long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) in adults and adolescent brain primary tumors such as gliomas and medulloblastomas, considering their impact on, and from the perspective of, the most basic mechanism of cancer development. We make an effort to summarize the present knowledge of the ability of ncRNAs to be prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic molecules in brain tumors
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