Lung Cancer-Specific Circular RNAs as Biomarkers
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women in the United States. Lack of robust biomarker for early detection is a significant challenge to successful lung cancer therapy. It is well known now that our genome makes two major types of genes, i.e., protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, including small non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs. Although microRNAs cannot produce proteins, they are very important to protein-coding genes because they can control expression of these protein-coding genes. Moreover, recent studies suggest that microRNAs can also be controlled by another type of non-coding RNAs called circular RNAs because they can function as sponges to neutralize microRNA function. However, little is known about circular RNAs in lung cancer. Therefore, we would like to determine whether we can identify circular RNAs in lung cancer, which may serve as novel biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis. This is important because these circular RNAs are more stable than those linear counterparts and they may be present in our body fluid such as blood. More importantly, this is a non-invasive approach and can be easily applied to the clinical setting once they are confirmed to be differentially expressed. Therefore, we expect that circular RNAs may prove to be valuable biomarkers for lung cancer; this will directly benefit lung cancer patients of military Service members or their families.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1610239
Entities
People
- Yin-Yuan Mo
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Mississippi