In this review, Cherry et al. describe the current understanding of how splicing is regulated, discuss some classic and newer examples of how this regulation is altered in cancer, and then review recent insight into the breadth of splicing variability in cancer as well as the progress and obstacles in leveraging alternative splicing to increase our ability to classify and treat human metastatic disease.
Over the past decade there has been increased awareness of the potential role of alternative splicing in the etiology of cancer. In particular, advances in RNA-Sequencing technology and analysis has led to a wave of discoveries in the last few years regarding the causes and functional relevance of alternative splicing in cancer. Here we discuss the current understanding of the connections between splicing and cancer, with a focus on the most recent findings. We also discuss remaining questions and challenges that must be addressed in order to use our knowledge of splicing to guide the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.