Long noncoding RNAs: New players in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer and frequent cause of cancer-related mortality in men worldwide. Despite its commonness, the underlying molecular mechanism of prostate cancer is not completely understood. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are being implicated in the complex network of an apparent cancer initiatome and hundreds of lncRNAs are differentially expressed in various types of cancer including prostate cancer. While many lncRNAs exhibit oncogenic function and are named “Onco-lncRNAs”, only a few lncRNAs inhibit cell proliferation or induce apoptosis and, hence, act as tumor suppressors. In this review, we highlight recent findings of emerging roles for lncRNAs in prostate cancer and discuss rapid translational lncRNA research for clinical application in diagnosis, prognosis and potential treatment.