CDKN2B-AS1 as a novel therapeutic target in cancer: Mechanism and clinical perspective

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have been identified as essential components having considerable modulatory impacts on biological activities through altering gene transcription, epigenetic changes, and protein translation. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2B antisense RNA 1 (CDKN2B-AS1), a recently discovered lncRNA, was shown to be substantially elevated in various cancers. Furthermore, via modulation of various signaling axes, it is effectively connected to the control of critical cancer-associated biological pathways like cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and migration. Considering the crucial functions of CDKN2B-AS1 in cancer onset and development, this lncRNA offers immense therapeutic implications for usage as a new diagnostic or treatment approach. In this article, we evaluate the most recent discoveries made into the functions of the lncRNA CDKN2B-AS1 in cancer, in addition to its prospect as beneficial properties, prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in the cancer-related treatment, emphasizing its participation in a broad network of signaling axes which could affect various cancers and investigating its promising therapeutic possibility.