Focally amplified long non-coding RNA in epithelial cancer as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target.

Deregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been implicated in tumorigenesis. FALEC is a lncRNA upregulated in multiple cancer types. FALEC functions as an oncogene through various mechanisms, such as competitively binding miRNAs and regulation of PI3K/AKT, Tp53 and phosphatase and tensin homolog signaling pathways. Pertinent to clinical practice, the use of FALEC as a putative biomarker has been identified. These findings suggested that FALEC might play a pivotal role in human cancers. Further studies are warranted to examine the diagnostic and prognostic performance of FALEC as a noninvasive biomarker in liquid biopsy samples and promote its development to be a clinically utilizable prognostic cancer biomarker and molecular therapeutic target.