The role of noncoding RNA in thyroid cancer.

Increasing noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) were found to show abnormal expression patterns in various human cancers. Based on size, ncRNAs are generally grouped into two categories, short noncoding RNAs and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) of greater than 200 nt. Small noncoding RNAs include microRNAs, piRNAs, snoRNAs, and endogenous siRNAs, out of the role of miRNAs in development and cancer biology has been extensively studied. In contrast to small noncoding RNAs like miRNAs, long noncoding RNAs are much less known concerning their functions in human cancers especially in thyroid cancer. The present review highlighted the roles of miRNAs and newly discovered lncRNAs in thyroid development, tumorigenesis, metastasis, and their clinical implication.