Circulating Long Non-Coding RNAs Could Be the Potential Prognostic Biomarker for Liquid Biopsy for the Clinical Management of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) have little or no coding potential. These transcripts are longer than 200 nucleotides. Since lncRNAs are master regulators of almost all biological processes, recent evidence proves that aberrantly expressed lncRNAs are pathogenic for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and other diseases. LncRNAs influence chromatin modifications, transcriptional modifications, post-transcriptional modifications, genomic imprinting, cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and apoptosis. Consequently, they have an impact on the disease transformation, progression, and morbidity in OSCC. Therefore, circulating lncRNAs could be the potential cancer biomarker for the better clinical management (diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring) of OSCC to provide advanced treatment strategies and clinical decisions. In this review, we report and discuss the recent understandings and perceptions of dysregulated lncRNAs with a focus on their clinical significance in OSCC-disease monitoring and treatment. Evidence clearly indicates that a specific lncRNA expression signature could act as an indicator for the early prediction of diagnosis and prognosis for the initiation, progression, recurrence, metastasis and other clinical prognostic-factors (overall survival, disease-free survival, etc.) in OSCC. The present review demonstrates the current knowledge that all potential lncRNA expression signatures are molecular biomarkers for the early prediction of prognosis in OSCC. Finally, the review provides information about the clinical significance, challenges and limitations of the clinical usage of circulating lncRNAs in a liquid biopsy method in early, pre-symptomatic, sub-clinical, accurate OSCC prognostication. More studies on lncRNA are required to unveil the biology of the inherent mechanisms involved in the process of the development of differential prognostic outcomes in OSCC.

The Clinical Utility of lncRNAs and Their Application as Molecular Biomarkers in Breast Cancer

“…As discussed above, the implementation of PCA3 , DSCAM-AS1 , and GATA3-AS1 as other lncRNA molecular biomarkers represents a novel approach for the clinical management of the oncological patient ( Figure 1 ) since their expression is tissue-specific, disease-specific, and is associated to a particular stability in body fluids [ 2 ], contributing to the development of precision medicine; this is because lncRNA-based biomarkers offer simple and reliable tests [ 85 ]. Altogether, this represents the lncRNA-based diagnostics [ 86 , 87 ], a new concept in medicine which integrates the potential use of lncRNAs as molecular biomarkers, with application in clinical practice, that will improve patient management in three main aspects. The first is the use of non-invasive techniques for laboratory tests (e.g., liquid biopsies); this has proven to be useful in clinical routines as the urine analysis, which is currently in practice with the use of PCA3 [ 88 ].…”

Liquid biopsies for cancer: From bench to clinic

“…Besides, the implication of circulating lncRNA has been extensively studied in many other cancer types. For more information, please refer to the recent reviews that summarized findings regarding lncRNA‐based liquid biopsy, either for several types of cancer 171,195,201 or focused only on one type of cancer such as NSCLC, 196 prostate, 202 gastric, 169 breast, 170 DLBCL, 194 and oral squamous cell carcinoma 203 …”