MALAT1: A promising therapeutic target in metastatic colorectal cancer

Abstract

Research relating to cancer metastasis has boosted in recent years as one of the most important subjects of discussion towards to discover and develop novel anticancer agents. Colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most common cancer worldwide, is responsible for high mortality rates in patients due to its recurrence and distant metastasis to liver. Several biochemical pathways are implicated in metastatic CRC (mCRC), of which, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Metastasis-Associated Lung-Adenocarcinoma Transcript 1 (MALAT1) have been recently underlined. MALAT1 is an evolutionarily conserved RNA among mammalian species, linked to tumor cell proliferation, progression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cell migration and invasion. Previously, there has been a shred of evidence implicating MALAT1 to mCRC via multiple biochemical pathways. Accordingly, MALAT1 acts as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) with microRNAs (miRNAs) and directly interact with oncogenes and proteins, besides to be involved in the activation of signaling pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/Akt/mTOR and EMT. Current therapeutic options for mCRC patients are based on standard chemotherapy and the use of immunotherapy. Recently, RNA interference (RNAi) has been considered as an option against mCRC, hence the need to underscore the development of therapeutic options for mCRC. In this review, we examined various studies linking MALAT1 to multiple signaling pathways implicated in CRC and its potential as a therapeutic target for the treatment of mCRC.