Role of Non-Coding RNAs in Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, and the leading cancer killer in both men and women. Globally, it accounts for 11.6% of all cancer cases and is responsible for 18.4% of cancer-related deaths. The mechanisms underlying lung cancer development and progression have been widely studied, and roles for non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been identified. Non-coding RNAs are a type of RNA molecules that are not translated into proteins. The main types of ncRNAs include transfer RNAs (tRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), small nucleolar/nuclear RNAs (snoRNAs, snRNAs), extracellular RNAs (exRNAs), tRNA fragments, and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). In the past few years, there has been an increased interest in the role of ncRNAs in oncology, and lung cancer tumorigenesis specifically. Multiple ncRNAs were identified as tumor suppressors: tRNA fragments, snoRNAs, and piRNAs while others were reported to have tumor-promoting functions: circular RNAs (circRNAs), snoRNAs, piRNAs, YRNAs, natural antisense transcripts (NATs) and pseudogene transcripts. In this chapter, we discuss the latest body of knowledge regarding the role of ncRNAs in lung cancer pathogenesis as well as their potential use as biomarkers or therapies against lung cancer.