HOXC Cluster Antisense RNA 3, a Novel Long Non-Coding RNA as an Oncological Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Human Malignancies

Abstract

HOXC cluster antisense RNA 3 (HOXC-AS3) is a novel long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) that exhibits aberrant expression patterns in various cancer types. Its expression is closely related to clinicopathological features, demonstrating significant clinical relevance across multiple tumors. And HOXC-AS3 plays multifaceted roles in tumor progression, impacting cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), autophagy, senescence, tumor growth, and metastasis. In this review, we summarized and comprehensively analyzed the expression and clinical significance of HOXC-AS3 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for malignancies. Additionally, we presented an in-depth update on HOXC-AS3’s functions and regulatory mechanisms in cancer pathogenesis. This narrative review underscores the importance of HOXC-AS3 as a promising lncRNA candidate in cancer research and its potential as a predictive biomarker and therapeutic target in clinical applications.

Keywords:

• long non-coding RNA
• HOXC-AS3
• malignant neoplasms
• neoplastic processes
• biological marker

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgment

We thank Xiantao Tools (https://www.xiantaozi.com/) for helping to obtain analysis data datasets from TCGA, Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and UCSC Xena to evaluate the expression of HOXC-AS3 and its clinical outcome in tumors.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province, China (S2020ZRMSB0672).