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Non-Coding RNAs’ Functionality—Diagnosis and Therapy in Cancer and Other Indications (2nd Edition)

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 636

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Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
Interests: molecular biology; genetic and protein engineering; noncoding RNAs
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Only a small fraction of transcribed RNAs are translated to proteins and involved in the central dogma. The overwhelming majority of transcribed RNA is not translated to protein and is thus termed non-coding RNA. However, this does not mean that transcribed non-coding RNAs do not have important cellular functions. Research has indicated multiple functions for non-coding RNA, which include it having epigenetic effects on other coding mRNAs and regulating multiple cellular functions, such as protein expression and localization, cell proliferation, cancer, cell apoptotic death, the cell cycle, cell migration and invasiveness, epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer stem cells, and drug resistance in cancer.

In this Special Issue, we will focus on the vital functional roles of the main types of non-coding RNAs expressed in cancer, as well as the state of the art, to monitor their aberrational expression in cancer diagnoses and their therapeutic potential.

Volume I of this Special Issue: “Non-coding RNAs' Functionality-Diagnosis and Therapy in Cancer and Other Indications

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Raafat El-Gewely
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)
  • long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)
  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs)
  • circular RNAs (circRNAs)
  • epigenetic and post-transcriptional regulation
  • epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)
  • cell proliferation and Apoptosis
  • biomarkers and Liquid biopsy
  • RNA-based therapeutics
  • next-generation sequencing (NGS)
  • CRISPR/Cas9 screening
  • single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq)
  • RNA interference (RNAi)
  • cancer stem cells
  • early cancer diagnosis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 3057 KB  
Article
Venous Thrombogenesis and Cervical Cancer: Plasma MicroRNAs as Prognostic Indicators of Tumor Behavior
by Mariana Teixeira Costa, Beatriz Vieira Neto, José Brito da Silva, Luísa Carvalho, Lurdes Salgado, Deolinda Pereira, Filomena Adega, Valéria Tavares and Rui Medeiros
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(19), 9796; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26199796 - 8 Oct 2025
Viewed by 450
Abstract
Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, with venous thromboembolism (VTE) representing a life-threatening complication. Cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) arises from tumor-driven activation of hemostasis, worsening prognosis. Recently, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as potential biomarkers for both CAT [...] Read more.
Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, with venous thromboembolism (VTE) representing a life-threatening complication. Cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) arises from tumor-driven activation of hemostasis, worsening prognosis. Recently, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as potential biomarkers for both CAT and cervical tumorigenesis. Thus, this study aimed to assess the implications of five miRNAs—miR-20a-5p, -23a-3p, -125b-5p, -145-5p, and -616-3p—in CC-related VTE context. These miRNAs were quantified by RT-qPCR in plasma from 69 CC patients before treatment. Briefly, VTE occurred in nine patients, decreasing overall survival (OS) [log-rank test, p = 0.005; hazard ratio (HR) = 4.78; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.42–16.05]. Lower miR-20a-5p levels predicted VTE (ꭓ2 test, p = 0.027) and, in subgroup analyses, they were linked to cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and older age (ꭓ2 test, p = 0.003 and p = 0.043, respectively). In VTE patients, miR-145-5p downregulation was associated with improved OS (log-rank test, p = 0.018), an effect also observed in the adenocarcinoma (ADC) subgroup (log-rank test, p = 0.039). The remaining miRNAs showed subtype-specific links to clinicopathological features and survival. These findings highlight the potential value of circulating miRNAs in thrombotic risk and prognosis assessment in CC. Full article
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