ZEB 1‐ AS 1: A crucial cancer‐related long non‐coding RNA

Long non‐coding RNA s (lnc RNA s) recently emerge as a novel class of non‐coding RNA s (nc RNA s) with larger than 200 nucleotides in length. Due to lack an obvious open reading frame, lnc RNA s have no or limited protein‐coding potential. To date, accumulating evidence indicates the vital regulatory function of lnc RNA s in pathological processes of human diseases, especially in carcinogenesis and development. Deregulation of lnc RNA s not only alters cellular biological behavior, such as proliferation, migration and invasion, but also represents the poor clinical outcomes. Zinc finger E‐box binding homeobox 1 antisense 1 ( ZEB 1‐ AS 1), an outstanding cancer‐related lnc RNA , is identified as an oncogenic regulator in diverse malignancies. Dysregulation of ZEB 1‐ AS 1 has been demonstrated to exhibit a pivotal role in tumorigenesis and progression, suggesting its potential clinical value as a promising biomarker or therapeutic target for cancers. In this review, we make a summary on the current findings regarding the biological functions, underlying mechanisms and clinical significance of ZEB 1‐ AS 1 in cancer progression.