Noncoding RNAs In Breast Cancer Research Articles

Harnessing the potential of long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer: from etiology to treatment resistance and clinical applications.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy among women and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths of females worldwide. It is a complex and molecularly heterogeneous disease, with various subtypes that require different treatment strategies. Despite advances in high-resolution single-cell and multinomial technologies, distant metastasis and therapeutic resistance remain major challenges for BC treatment. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-coding RNAs with more than 200 nucleotides in length. They act as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to regulate post-transcriptional gene stability and modulate protein-protein, protein-DNA, and protein-RNA interactions to regulate various biological processes. Emerging evidence suggests that lncRNAs play essential roles in human cancers, including BC. In this review, we focus on the roles and mechanisms of lncRNAs in BC progression, metastasis, and treatment resistance, and discuss their potential value as therapeutic targets. Specifically, we summarize how lncRNAs are involved in the initiation and progression of BC, as well as their roles in metastasis and the development of therapeutic resistance. We also recapitulate the potential of lncRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers and discuss their potential use in personalized medicine. Finally, we provide lncRNA-based strategies to promote the prognosis of breast cancer patients in clinical settings, including the development of novel lncRNA-targeted therapies.

Unraveling the cross-talk between N6-methyladenosine modification and non-coding RNAs in breast cancer: Mechanisms and clinical implications.

In recent years, breast cancer (BC) has surpassed lung cancer as the most common malignant tumor worldwide and remains the leading cause of cancer death in women. The etiology of BC usually involves dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms and aberrant expression of certain non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most prevalent RNA modification in eukaryotes, widely exists in ncRNAs to affect its biosynthesis and function, and is an important regulator of tumor-related signaling pathways. Interestingly, ncRNAs can also regulate or target m6A modification, playing a key role in cancer progression. However, the m6A-ncRNAs regulatory network in BC has not been fully elucidated, especially the regulation of m6A modification by ncRNAs. Therefore, in this review, we comprehensively summarize the interaction mechanisms and biological significance of m6A modifications and ncRNAs in BC. Meanwhile, we also focused on the clinical application value of m6A modification in BC diagnosis and prognosis, intending to explore new biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.

Emerging roles of interactions between ncRNAs and other epigenetic modifications in breast cancer.

Up till the present moment, breast cancer is still the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Although the treatment methods and protocols for breast cancer are constantly improving, the long-term prognosis of patients is still not optimistic due to the complex heterogeneity of the disease, multi-organ metastasis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy resistance. As a newly discovered class of non-coding RNAs, ncRNAs play an important role in various cancers. Especially in breast cancer, lncRNAs have received extensive attention and have been confirmed to regulate cancer progression through a variety of pathways. Meanwhile, the study of epigenetic modification, including DNA methylation, RNA methylation and histone modification, has developed rapidly in recent years, which has greatly promoted the attention to the important role of non-coding RNAs in breast cancer. In this review, we carefully and comprehensively describe the interactions between several major classes of epigenetic modifications and ncRNAs, as well as their different subsequent biological effects, and discuss their potential for practical clinical applications.

Revisiting the hallmarks of cancer: A new look at long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. The increasing understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying its heterogeneity favors a better understanding of tumor biology and consequently the development of better diagnostic and treatment techniques. The advent of tumor genome sequencing techniques has highlighted more participants in the process, in addition to protein-coding genes. Thus, it is now known that long noncoding RNAs, previously described as transcriptional noise with no biological function, are intimately associated with tumor development. In breast cancer, they are abnormally expressed and closely associated with tumor progression, which makes them attractive diagnostic biomarkers and prognostic and specific therapeutic targets. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer is essential for the search for new treatment strategies. In this review, we summarize the major long noncoding RNAs and their association with the cancer characteristics of the ability to sustain proliferative signaling, evasion of growth suppressors, replicative immortality, activation of invasion and metastasis, induction of angiogenesis, resistance to cell death, reprogramming of energy metabolism, genomic instability and sustained mutations, promotion of tumor inflammation, and evasion of the immune system. In addition, we report and suggest how they can be used as prognostic biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets.

Coding roles of long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer: Emerging molecular diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets with special reference to chemotherapy resistance.

Dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms have been depicted in several pathological consequence such as cancer. Different modes of epigenetic regulation (DNA methylation (hypomethylation or hypermethylation of promotor), histone modifications, abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs, and small nucleolar RNAs), are discovered. Particularly, lncRNAs are known to exert pivot roles in different types of cancer including breast cancer. LncRNAs with oncogenic and tumour suppressive potential are reported. Differentially expressed lncRNAs contribute a remarkable role in the development of primary and acquired resistance for radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. A wide range of molecular subtype specific lncRNAs have been assessed in breast cancer research. A number of studies have also shown that lncRNAs may be clinically used as non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. Such molecular biomarkers have also been found in cancer stem cells of breast tumours. The objectives of the present review are to summarize the important roles of oncogenic and tumour suppressive lncRNAs for the early diagnosis of breast cancer, metastatic potential, and chemotherapy resistance across the molecular subtypes.

Roles and Mechanisms of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a major health threat and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. The detailed mechanisms involved in the initiation and progression of breast cancer remain unclear. In recent years, amounting evidence indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) played crucial roles in regulating various biological processes and malignancy tumors, including breast cancer. In this review, we briefly introduce the functions and underlying mechanisms by which lncRNAs are involved in breast cancer. We summarize the roles of the lncRNAs in regulating malignant behaviors of breast cancer, such as cell proliferation, migration and invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), apoptosis, and drug resistance. Additionally, we also briefly summarize the roles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in breast cancer carcinogenesis.

DANCR Induces Cisplatin Resistance of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by KLF5/p27 Signaling

An increasing body of evidence suggests that long noncoding RNAs play critical roles in human cancer. Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and the potential involvement of long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer remains poorly understood. Herein, the study identified a long noncoding RNA, DANCR, which promotes cisplatin chemoresistance in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Mechanistically, binding of DANCR to Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) induced acetylation of KLF5 at lysine 369 (K369), and DANCR knockdown resulted in down-regulation of KLF5 protein levels. Furthermore, DANCR/KLF5 signaling pathway induced hypersensitivity to cisplatin in chemoresistant patients by inhibiting p27 transcription. In summary, this study reinforced the potential presence of a growth regulatory network in TNBC cells, and documented a DANCR/KLF5/p27 signaling pathway mediating cisplatin chemoresistance in TNBC.

A novel prognostic signature based on N7-methylguanosine-related long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) are closely associated with the occurrence and progression of tumors. However, research on N7-methylguanosine (m7G)-related lncRNA in breast cancer is lacking. Therefore, the present study explored the prognostic value, gene expression characteristics, and effects of m7G-related lncRNA on tumor immune cell infiltration and tumor mutational burden (TMB) in breast cancer. lncRNA expression matrices and clinical follow-up data of patients with breast cancer were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas, revealing eight significantly differentially expressed and prognostically relevant m7G-related lncRNAs in breast cancer tissues: BAIAP2-DT, COL4A2-AS1, FARP1-AS1, RERE-AS1, NDUFA6-DT, TFAP2A-AS1, LINC00115, and MIR302CHG. A breast cancer prognostic signature was created based on these m7G-related lncRNAs according to least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression. The prognostic signature combined with potential prognostic factors showed independent prognostic value, reliability, and specificity. Meanwhile, we constructed a risk score-based nomogram to assist clinical decision-making. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that low- and high-risk group were associated with metabolism-related pathways. Our study demonstrated the association between tumor immune cell infiltration based on analyses with the CIBERSORT algorithm and prognostic signature. We also assessed the correlation between prognostic signature and TMB. Lastly, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed to validate differentially expressed lncRNAs. The effective prognostic signature based on m7G-related lncRNAs has the potential to predict the survival prognosis of patients with breast cancer. The eight m7G-related lncRNAs identified in this study might represent potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets of breast cancer.

Expression analysis of CDKN2C-related lncRNAs in breast cancer

Cell cycle related genes are implicated in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. In the present study, we aimed at identification of the role of a cell cycle related gene and functionally associated long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer. Thus, we studied expression levels of CDKN2C gene and three related long non-coding RNAs, namely PANDAR, AATBC and PANTR1 in breast cancer samples compared with adjacent tissues. Expression of CDKN2C was significantly lower in breast tumor samples compared with control samples (expression ratio (95% CI) = 0.49 (0.3–0.8), P values = 0.0049). On the other hand, PANTR1 was up-regulated in cancerous samples compared with control samples (expression ratio (95% CI) = 4.25 (1.25–14.38), P values = 0.033). While CDKN2C could separate these sets of samples with AUC ± SD, sensitivity, specificity and P values of 0.75 ± 0.05, 0.68, 0.86 and 0.0002, respectively; PANTR1 could not distinguish between cancerous and non-cancerous samples (P value = 0.6). AUC ± SD, sensitivity and specificity values for PANTR1 were 0.53 ± 0.07, 0.97 and 0.36, respectively. There were significant differences in the correlation patterns of CDKN2C/PANDAR, CDKN2C/AATBC and CDKN2C/PANTR1 pairs between cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. In fact, expression of CDKN2C was correlated with all lncRNAs in cancerous samples, in spite of lack of correlation in non-cancerous tissues. The present study shows possible role of CDKN2C in the pathoetiology of breast cancer.

The Role of Hypoxia-Associated Long Non-Coding RNAs in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. In the United States, even with earlier diagnosis and treatment improvements, the decline in mortality has stagnated in recent years. More research is needed to provide better diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools for these patients. Long non-coding RNAs are newly described molecules that have extensive roles in breast cancer. Emerging reports have shown that there is a strong link between these RNAs and the hypoxic response of breast cancer cells, which may be an important factor for enhanced tumoral progression. In this review, we summarize the role of hypoxia-associated lncRNAs in the classic cancer hallmarks, describing their effects on the upstream and downstream hypoxia signaling pathway and the use of them as diagnostic and prognostic tools.

Construction and Analysis of the Dysregulated ceRNA Network and Identification of Risk Long Noncoding RNAs in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer (BRCA) is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide. However, the molecular mechanism involved in the development of BRCA is not fully understood. In this study, based on the miRNA-mediated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)–protein coding gene (PCG) relationship and lncRNA–PCG co-expression information, we constructed and analyzed a specific dysregulated lncRNA–PCG co-expression network in BRCA. Then, we performed the random walk with restart (RWR) method to prioritize BRCA-related lncRNAs through comparing their RWR score and significance. As a result, we identified 30 risk lncRNAs for BRCA, which can distinguish normal and tumor samples. Moreover, through gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, we found that these risk lncRNAs mainly synergistically exerted functions related to cell cycle and DNA separation and replication. At last, we developed a four-lncRNA prognostic signature (including AP000851.1, LINC01977, MAFG-DT, SIAH2-AS1) and assessed the survival accuracy of the signature by performing time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The areas under the ROC curve for 1, 3, 5, and 10 years of survival prediction were 0.68, 0.61, 0.62, and 0.63, respectively. The multivariable Cox regression results verified that the four-lncRNA signature could be used as an independent prognostic biomarker in BRCA. In summary, these results have important reference value for the study of diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis evaluation of BRCA.

Diagnostic Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Breast Cancer: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Recent research has suggested that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is involved in the tumorigenesis and development of breast cancer (BC). This meta-analysis aimed to identify the diagnostic role of lncRNAs in BC. All relevant studies were systematically searched through PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases. The diagnostic values of lncRNAs were mainly assessed by pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), and summary receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (SROC AUC). Meta-DiSc 1.4, Review Manager 5.3 and STATA 12.0 were used for statistical analysis. A total of 24 eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled SEN, SPE, and AUC were 0.75 (95% CI: 0.68 - 0.81), 0.77 (95% CI: 0.70 - 0.82), and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.79 - 0.86), respectively, suggesting that the lncRNAs test had a high accuracy for the diagnosis of BC. Obvious heterogeneity might come from the dysregulated state of lncRNAs through subgroup and meta-regression analysis (p < 0.001). Fagan diagram showed clinical value of lncRNAs test in BC. Abnormal expression of lncRNAs exhibits a high efficacy for diagnosing BC, which is promising in clinical application.

Gene expression of indoleamine and tryptophan dioxygenases and three long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer

The kynurenine pathway (KP) has a principal role in the metabolism of tryptophan. This pathway is also involved in the pathogenesis of cancer. We evaluated expression of two rate limiting enzymes from this pathway (IDO1 and TDO2) as well as three long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that have been predicted to alter expression of IDO1 (ITGB2-AS1, HCP5 and MIR155HG) in 82 breast cancer tissues and their adjacent non-cancerous tissues (ANCTs). While IDO1 expression levels were not significantly different between malignant tissues and ANCTs (expression ratio = 0.56, P = .21), TDO2 was significantly down-regulated in malignant tissues compared with ANCTs (Expression ratio = 0.001, P < .001). Among lncRNAs, expression of HCP5 was significantly lower in malignant tissues compared with ANCTs (Expression ratio = 0.17, P < .001). However, expression of ITGB2-AS1 was higher in malignant tissues compared with ANCTs (Expression ratio = 3.38, P = .01). Expressions of genes were not associated with any of clinical or demographic data of patients. However, there were trends towards association between IDO1 expression and tumor size as well as estrogen receptor (ER) status (P values 0.09 and 0.08 respectively). Significant pairwise correlations were found between expression levels of genes especially in ANCTs. Notably, TDO2 expression levels were correlated with expression of all other genes in ANCTs but none of them in tumor tissues. Based on the area under curve (AUC) values, HCP5 and TDO2 had “fair” diagnostic power (AUC values of 0.73 and 0.72). Notably, combination of HCP5, ITGB2-AS1 and TDO2 genes increased the diagnostic power to the level of “good”. The current investigation underscores the role of KP in breast cancer and potentiates some genes within this pathway as diagnostic markers in breast cancer.

Non-Coding RNAs as Regulators and Markers for Targeting of Breast Cancer and Cancer Stem Cells.

Breast cancer is regarded as a heterogeneous and complicated disease that remains the prime focus in the domain of public health concern. Next-generation sequencing technologies provided a new perspective dimension to non-coding RNAs, which were initially considered to be transcriptional noise or a product generated from erroneous transcription. Even though understanding of biological and molecular functions of noncoding RNA remains enigmatic, researchers have established the pivotal role of these RNAs in governing a plethora of biological phenomena that includes cancer-associated cellular processes such as proliferation, invasion, migration, apoptosis, and stemness. In addition to this, the transmission of microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs was identified as a source of communication to breast cancer cells either locally or systemically. The present review provides in-depth information with an aim at discovering the fundamental potential of non-coding RNAs, by providing knowledge of biogenesis and functional roles of micro RNA and long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer and breast cancer stem cells, as either oncogenic drivers or tumor suppressors. Furthermore, non-coding RNAs and their potential role as diagnostic and therapeutic moieties have also been summarized.

Critical roles of long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a major clinical challenge that affects a wide range of the female population and heavily burdens the health system. In the past few decades, attempts have been made to understand the etiology of breast cancer, possible environmental risk factors, and the genetic predispositions, pathogenesis, and molecular aberrations involved in the process. Studies have shown that breast cancer is a heterogeneous entity; each subtype has its specific set of aberrations in different cell signaling pathways, such as Notch, Wnt/β-catenin, transforming growth factor-β, and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. One novel group of molecules that have been shown to be inducted in the regulation of multiple cell signaling pathways is the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). These molecules have important implications in the regulation of multiple signaling pathways by interacting with various genes, affecting the transcription process, and finally, playing roles in posttranslational control of these genes. There is growing evidence that lncRNAs are involved in the process of breast cancer formation by effecting the aforementioned signaling pathways, and that this involvement can have significant diagnostic and prognostic values in clinical contexts. The present review aims to elicit the significance of lncRNAs in the regulation of cell signaling pathways, and the resulting changes in cell survival, proliferation, and invasion, which are the hallmarks of breast cancer.

Expression analysis of NF-κB interacting long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer

The nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) has a prominent role in development of breast cancer and response of patients to conventional therapies. Several factors regulate the activity of this transcription factor.In the current investigation, we compared expression levels of five long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with putative interactions with NF-κB namely CHAST, ADINR, DICER1-AS1, HNF1A-AS1 and NKILA between 78 breast cancer tissues and their paired adjacent non-cancerous tissues (ANCTs). We also assessed expression levels of ATG5 and CEBPA mRNA coding genes that are functionally linked with NF-κB signaling in these two sets of samples.All assessed genes except for NKILA were significantly down-regulated in tumoral tissues compared with ANCTs. Expression of NKILA was not significantly different between tumoral tissues and ANCTs. Expression levels of CEBPA and HNF1A-AS were significantly associated with cancer stage (P values of 0.03 and 0.02 respectively). Expression levels of ATG5 tended to be associated with mitotic rate (P = .05). The association between expression levels of ATG5 and tumor size was also significant (P = .02). Expression of CHAST was significantly associated with PR status (P = .04) and tended to be associated with ER status (P = .05). Finally, expression of NKILA was significantly associated with first pregnancy age (P = .01). No other significant association was detected between expression levels of assessed genes and clinical parameters. Expression levels of mentioned genes were significantly correlated with each other. The most significant correlations were found between CHAST and ADINR (correlation coefficients of 0.78 and 0.69 in tumoral tissues and ANCTs respectively). Based on the area under curve (AUC) values, DICER1-AS and CEBPA had the best performance in differentiation of tumoral tissues from ANCTs (AUC values of 0.92 and 0.90 respectively. Combination of transcript quantities of six genes could differentiate these two sets of samples with 92.3% sensitivity, 91% specificity and diagnostic power of 95%.The current project highlights dysregulation of NF-κB-associated genes in breast cancer tissues and suggests them as potential diagnostic markers in breast cancer.

Expression of long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer in relation to reproductive factors and tumor characteristics.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) regulate expressions of several cancer-related genes and pathways. Expression profiling of lncRNAs would pave the way for identification of dysregulated pathways in cancer. We assessed expression of FAS-anti sense 1 (FAS-AS1), Taurine Upregulated 1 (TUG1), OPA-interacting protein 5-AS1 (OIP5 -AS1), nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), and highly upregulated in liver cancer (HULC) in breast tumor tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues (ANCTs). TUG1 was downregulated in tumoral tissues. We found associations between TUG1 expression and mitotic rate, NEAT1 expression and breast feeding duration as well as FAS-AS1 and OPI5 expressions and menarche age. A combination of transcript levels of all genes had 88.5% sensitivity and 42.3% specificity in breast cancer diagnosis. The current study provides evidence for the contribution of lncRNAs in breast cancer in relation to reproductive factors and tumor characteristics.

Landscape of tumor suppressor long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer

BackgroundThe landscape and biological functions of tumor suppressor long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer are still unknown.MethodsData from whole transcriptome sequencing of 33 breast specimens in the Harbin Medical University Cancer Center cohort and The Cancer Genome Atlas was applied to identify and validate the landscape of tumor suppressor long noncoding RNAs, which was further validated by The Cancer Genome Atlas pancancer data including 33 cancer types and 12,839 patients. Next, the expression model, prognostic roles, potential biological functions and epigenetic regulation of tumor suppressor long noncoding RNAs were investigated and validated in the breast cancer and pancancer cohorts. Finally, EPB41L4A-AS2 was selected to validate our novel finding, and the tumor suppressive roles of EPB41L4A-AS2 in breast cancer were examined.ResultsWe identified and validated the landscape of tumor suppressor long noncoding RNAs in breast cancer. The expression of the identified long noncoding RNAs was downregulated in cancer tissue samples compared with normal tissue samples, and these long noncoding RNAs correlated with a favorable prognosis in breast cancer patients and the patients in the pancancer cohort. Multiple carcinogenesis-associated biological functions were predicted to be regulated negatively by these long noncoding RNAs. Moreover, these long noncoding RNAs were transcriptionally regulated by epigenetic modification, including DNA methylation and histone methylation modification. Finally, EPB41L4A-AS2 inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion and induced cell apoptosis in vitro. Mechanistically, EPB41L4A-AS2, acting at least in part as a tumor suppressor, upregulated tumor suppressor gene expression. Moreover, ZNF217 recruited EZH2 to the EPB41L4A-AS2 locus and suppressed the expression of EPB41L4A-AS2 by epigenetically increasing H3K27me3 enrichment.ConclusionsThis work enlarges the functional landscape of known long noncoding RNAs in human cancer and provides novel insights into the suppressive roles of these long noncoding RNAs.

Long Non-Coding RNA and Breast Cancer

Breast cancer, one of the most common diseases among women, is regarded as a heterogeneous and complicated disease that remains a major public health concern. Recently, owing to the development of next-generation sequencing technologies, long non-coding RNAs have received extensive attention. Numerous studies reveal that long non-coding RNAs are playing important roles in tumor development. Although the biological function and molecular mechanisms of long non-coding RNAs remain enigmatic, recent researchers have demonstrated that an array of long non-coding RNAs express abnormally in cancers, including breast cancer. Herein, we summarized the latest literature about long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer, with a particular focus on the multiple molecular roles of regulatory long non-coding RNAs that regulate cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and apoptosis.

Non-Coding RNAs in Breast Cancer: Intracellular and Intercellular Communication.

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are regulators of intracellular and intercellular signaling in breast cancer. ncRNAs modulate intracellular signaling to control diverse cellular processes, including levels and activity of estrogen receptor α (ERα), proliferation, invasion, migration, apoptosis, and stemness. In addition, ncRNAs can be packaged into exosomes to provide intercellular communication by the transmission of microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to cells locally or systemically. This review provides an overview of the biogenesis and roles of ncRNAs: small nucleolar RNA (snRNA), circular RNAs (circRNAs), PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), miRNAs, and lncRNAs in breast cancer. Since more is known about the miRNAs and lncRNAs that are expressed in breast tumors, their established targets as oncogenic drivers and tumor suppressors will be reviewed. The focus is on miRNAs and lncRNAs identified in breast tumors, since a number of ncRNAs identified in breast cancer cells are not dysregulated in breast tumors. The identity and putative function of selected lncRNAs increased: nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1), metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), steroid receptor RNA activator 1 (SRA1), colon cancer associated transcript 2 (CCAT2), colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE), myocardial infarction associated transcript (MIAT), and long intergenic non-protein coding RNA, Regulator of Reprogramming (LINC-ROR); and decreased levels of maternally-expressed 3 (MEG3) in breast tumors have been observed as well. miRNAs and lncRNAs are considered targets of therapeutic intervention in breast cancer, but further work is needed to bring the promise of regulating their activities to clinical use.