Novel perspectives of long non-coding RNAs in esophageal carcinoma.

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the most aggressive cancer types worldwide. However, the underlying genomic events of EC are not fully understood. It is becoming evident that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in tumorgenesis, metastasis, prognosis and diagnosis. Accumulating EC-related lncRNAs have been verified to involve in various biological processes through diverse functions including signal, decoy, scaffold and guide. However, the molecular mechanism of lncRNAs in EC has not been fully explored. In this review, we outline the functions and underlying mechanism of EC-related lncRNAs to pave the way for identification of novel potential biomarkers for EC.