Drugging non‐coding RNAs—A new light of hope in senescence‐related cancer therapy

Abstract

Cancer is the most prevalent disease of concern worldwide for several decades. Diverse therapeutic aspects are in applications to control this phenomenal disease and also for decennaries. Among many causes and consequences of cancer, senescence has gained much interest in recent times. Senescence, also termed aging, is the natural process that induces cancer in neighboring cells through Senescence‐Associated‐Secretory Phenotypes (SASPs) production. As a cure or preventive measure of cancer progression, studies already light upon multiple proteins and their roles in associated pathways but the aspect of different non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs) is emerging recently and is under extensive research. Different approaches toward controlling senescence and inhibiting senescent cell accumulation are other aspects of cancer procurement. Thus, the role of ncRNA molecules in senescence and aging is getting much more interest as an alternate therapy for cancer treatment. In this review, at first, the roles of different ncRNAs related to several cellular processes are described. Then we tried to highlight the roles of different non‐coding RNAs in senescence‐induced cancer formation that extends with increasing age and emphasized non‐coding RNAs as a therapeutic target solely or in combination with small molecules where drugging of small molecules targeting these non‐coding RNAs can control cancer development.