The Balancing Act: Understanding MicroRNA and Competing Endogenous RNA Regulation in Cancer

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are key players in the regulation of a wide range of cellular activities, and their aberrant expression has been implicated in disease progression. Although many classes of ncRNAs are still not fully understood, studies have demonstrated their importance in the regulation of gene expression. For example, ncRNAs have been shown to play important roles in chromatin remodeling, controlling the translation and splicing of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and protein translocation. In addition, we and other researchers have demonstrated that both ncRNAs and mRNAs can reciprocally coregulate each other by sequestering common microRNAs, thus acting as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). The dysregulation of ceRNA interactions has been implicated in various cancers. In this chapter, we discuss the established and potential roles of different classes of ncRNAs in ceRNA regulation in cancer, key considerations for optimal ceRNA activity and their potential value in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics.