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Abstract
Over the past decade, the amount of research and the number of publications on associations
between circulating small and long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and cancer have grown
exponentially. Particular focus has been placed on the development of diagnostic and
prognostic biomarkers to enable efficient patient management - from early detection
of cancer to monitoring for disease recurrence or progression after treatment. Owing
to their high abundance and stability, circulating ncRNAs have potential utility as
non-invasive, blood-based biomarkers that can provide information on tumour biology
and the effects of treatments, such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Increasing
evidence highlights the roles of ncRNAs in cell-to-cell communication, with a number
of ncRNAs having the capacity to regulate gene expression outside of the cell of origin
through extracellular vesicle-mediated transfer to recipient cells, with implications
for cancer progression and therapy resistance. Moreover, 'foreign' microRNAs (miRNAs)
encoded by non-human genomes (so-called xeno-miRNAs), such as viral miRNAs, have been
shown to be present in human body fluids and can be used as biomarkers. Herein, we
review the latest developments in the use of circulating ncRNAs as diagnostic and
prognostic biomarkers and discuss their roles in cell-to-cell communication in the
context of cancer. We provide a compendium of miRNAs and long ncRNAs that have been
reported in the literature to be present in human body fluids and that have the potential
to be used as diagnostic and prognostic cancer biomarkers.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are being increasingly appreciated as important regulators of gene expression. Chang and colleagues review the roles identified for lncRNAs in the immune system and discuss models for how lncRNAs mediate their effects.
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