Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer: Molecular Diagnostics and RNA-Based Therapeutics
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Cancer Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 151
Special Issue Editors
Interests: clinical biochemistry; cancer biomarkers; non-coding RNAs; miRNAs; lncRNAs; kallikrein-related peptidases; apoptosis; alternative splicing; next-generation sequencing; third-generation sequencing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are critical components of gene regulatory networks and are consistently dysregulated across a broad spectrum of human malignancies. Differentially expressed microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs, and other ncRNA classes between cancerous and non-cancerous tissues, as well as across various cellular models, have provided critical insights into tumor initiation and progression. These alterations are frequently associated with key oncogenic processes, including sustained proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, metabolic reprogramming, invasion, metastasis, and resistance to therapy. Such evidence supports the exploitation of ncRNAs as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers, as well as promising therapeutic targets across multiple cancer types.
In parallel, RNA-based strategies targeting ncRNAs offer both functional insight and therapeutic potential. Antisense oligonucleotides, small interfering RNAs, and RNA aptamers allow selective suppression of overexpressed oncogenic ncRNAs, while miRNA mimics restore tumor-suppressive ncRNAs that are downregulated or lost in cancer. These gain- and loss-of-function approaches help uncover causal roles in tumor progression and therapy response, facilitating the identification of ncRNAs with therapeutic relevance. Although challenges related to delivery and specificity remain, these tools provide a framework for advancing ncRNA-directed interventions toward clinical application.
This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews focusing on differential ncRNA expression in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues or cellular models, as well as experimental validation of ncRNAs as clinically relevant biomarkers and therapeutic targets. We particularly encourage submissions that integrate molecular evidence with translational relevance to advance clinical application of ncRNA-based strategies in oncology.
Dr. Andreas Scorilas
Dr. Marios A. Diamantopoulos
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- ncRNAs
- miRNAs
- lncRNAs
- snoRNAs
- regulatory RNAs
- housekeeping RNAs
- cancer biomarkers
- RNA-targeted approaches
- predictive markers
- therapeutics
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