Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2018; 24(33): 3724-3737
Published online Sep 7, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i33.3724
Long non-coding RNAs involved in metastasis of gastric cancer
Meng-Ting Lin, Hao-Jun Song, Xiao-Yun Ding
Meng-Ting Lin, Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang Province, China
Hao-Jun Song, Xiao-Yun Ding, Gastroenterology Department, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Lin MT wrote the paper; Song HJ and Ding XY revised this manuscript; all of the authors gave their approval of the final version.
Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo, No. 2014A610226 and No.2016A610158; the Scientific Benefit for People Project of Ningbo, No. 2014C51001.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Xiao-Yun Ding, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Occupational Physician, Gastroenterology Department, Ningbo First Hospital, No. 59 Liu Ting Street, Haishu District, Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang Province, China. dyyyding@126.com
Telephone: +86-574-87085588 Fax: +86-574-87291583
Received: April 25, 2018
Peer-review started: April 25, 2018
First decision: May 16, 2018
Revised: May 22, 2018
Accepted: June 27, 2018
Article in press: June 27, 2018
Published online: September 7, 2018
Processing time: 134 Days and 11.2 Hours
Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignant diseases. The molecular mechanisms of metastasis remain unclear. Recently, studies have shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in metastasis. Therefore, deeper understanding of this mechanism could provide potential diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets for metastatic GC. This review focuses on dysregulated lncRNAs in GC metastases. Due to the identification of multiple diverse mechanisms involved in GC metastasis, we classified them into seven categories, including lncRNAs related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, regulation of degradation of extracellular matrix, angiopoiesis, vasculogenic mimicry, and immunologic escape. As the TNM stage is pivotal for evaluating the severity and prognosis of GC patients, we summarize the lncRNAs relevant to lymphatic metastasis, distant metastasis and TNM classification. This review summarizes the lncRNAs related to metastasis, which may provide insight into the mechanisms, and provide potential markers for prognostic prediction and monitoring the relapse of GC.

Keywords: Long noncoding RNAs; Stomach neoplasms; Metastasis

Core tip: This review summarizes the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that influence metastasis of gastric cancer. We classified lncRNAs according to their molecular mechanism, which included epithelial-mesenchymal transition, epigenetic regulation, degradation of the extracellular matrix, angiopoiesis, vasculogenic mimicry, and immunologic escape. Finally, we summarized the lncRNAs that have stable expression in serum and describe their clinical value. A table lists the clinical correlation of the lncRNAs in details.