CCAT1: an oncogenic long noncoding RNA in human cancers

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a new class of noncoding RNAs that participate in a variety of biological processes such as cell proliferation, cell cycle, differentiation and apoptosis, mainly by regulation of gene expression at various levels, including chromatin, splicing, transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. CCAT1 is a recently identified oncogenic lncRNA, which has been reported to be consistently upregulated in multiple cancer tissues and closely correlated with initiation and progression of cancers. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of various roles of CCAT1 in human cancers. We searched studies in electronic databases. Studies have shown the high expression pattern and oncogenic role of CCAT1 in different types of cancer, and aberrant expression of CCAT1 is involved in several processes correlated with carcinogenesis such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion by regulating different target genes and pathways. LncRNA CCAT1 promises to be a novel diagnostic biomarker, therapeutic target, as well as prognostic biomarker in human cancers.