Roles and Mechanisms of Non-Coding RNAs in Breast Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Breast cancer in women is the second most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. It has been demonstrated that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) representing the vast majority of the transcriptome are involved in the development and progression of breast cancer. Given the sheer amount of different ncRNA molecules and the complexity of their interactions, further studies are necessary to improve the understanding of their roles in breast cancer and to elucidate underlying molecular mechanisms. NcRNAs are not only important biomarkers in breast cancer but are considered as promising targets in breast cancer therapy. NcRNAs like miRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, or piRNAs have been shown to regulate cancer-related genes by different mechanisms, either as cellular ncRNAs acting in an autocrine manner or in an endocrine manner transported by the bloodstream when protected by protein binding or by packing into exosomes.

This Special Issue of IJMS is calling for original work or comprehensive review articles on the role and mechanisms of ncRNAs in breast cancer. Original reports are welcome elucidating the role of single miRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, or piRNAs with identification of specific mRNA targets linked to breast cancer tumorigenesis. Alternatively, studies identifying whole ncRNA sets working cooperatively to enhance or inhibit breast cancer growth are welcome. Of special interest are also circRNAs or exosome-packed ncRNAs, which have turned out to have high stability in the bloodstream, making them versatile non-invasive biomarkers. Finally, any specific strategy targeting oncogenic ncRNAs to inhibit breast cancer progression will be of great interest.

Prof. Dr. Oliver Treeck
Guest Editor

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 short 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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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.