| Breast cancer is a major clinical challenge that affects a wide range of the female
population and heavily burdens the health system. In the past few decades, attempts have
been made to understand the etiology of breast cancer, possible environmental risk
factors, and the genetic predispositions, pathogenesis, and molecular aberrations involved
in the process. Studies have shown that breast cancer is a heterogeneous entity; each
subtype has its specific set of aberrations in different cell signaling pathways, such as
Notch, Wnt/β‐catenin, transforming growth factor‐β, and mitogen‐activated protein kinase
pathways. One novel group of molecules that have been shown to be inducted in the
regulation of multiple cell signaling pathways is the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). These
molecules have important implications in the regulation of multiple signaling pathways by
interacting with various genes, affecting the transcription process, and finally, playing roles
in posttranslational control of these genes. There is growing evidence that lncRNAs are
involved in the process of breast cancer formation by effecting the aforementioned
signaling pathways, and that this involvement can have significant diagnostic and
prognostic values in clinical contexts. The present review aims to elicit the significance
of lncRNAs in the regulation of cell signaling pathways, and the resulting changes in cell
survival, proliferation, and invasion, which are the hallmarks of breast cancer. |