Non-coding RNAs deregulation in oral squamous cell carcinoma: advances and challenges

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common cause of cancer death. Despite decades of improvements in exploring new treatments and considerable advance in multimodality treatment, satisfactory curative rates have not yet been reached. The difficulty of early diagnosis and the high prevalence of metastasis associated with OSCC contribute to its dismal prognosis. In the last few decades the emerging data from both tumor biology and clinical trials led to growing interest in the research for predictive biomarkers. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are promising biomarkers. Among numerous kinds of ncRNAs, short ncRNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), have been extensively investigated with regard to their biogenesis, function, and importance in carcinogenesis. In contrast to miRNAs, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are much less known concerning their functions in human cancers especially in OSCC. The present review highlighted the roles of miRNAs and newly discovered lncRNAs in oral tumorigenesis, metastasis, and their clinical implication.