Chapter 1

The Role of ncRNAs in Human Cancer and its Related Patents

Maria I. Navarro-Mendoza, Carlos Perez-Arques, Laura Murcia, Alfonso F. Lopez-Martinez and Francisco E. Nicolas

Abstract

The development of the new sequencing technologies has unveiled a new world of regulatory non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that is revolutionizing our understanding of the RNA world. New transcripts with non-coding functions are being identified from most of the human genome. Although we have just started to study these ncRNAs, the broad list of regulatory functions assigned to them has assured a prominent role in the regulation of the molecular processes involved in human cancer. This chapter presents a review of the state of the art in the study of ncRNAs and their relationship with human cancer, summarizing the origin, structure and function of the most relevant new classes of ncRNAs. In addition, a selection of recent patents related to ncRNAs and human cancer is included here, analyzing their promising potential in the diagnosis and treatment of human cancer.

Total Pages: 1-24 (24)

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