Molecular mechanisms of thyroid cancer: A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) point of view

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most prevalent malignancy of the endocrine system. Although there are few treatment choices for individuals with TC, determining the underlying mechanisms is essential for treatment due to the complex carcinogenesis of this disease. Recent pieces of evidence suggest that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play an important role in the progression of TC. Nevertheless, the role and function of the complex regulatory interactions between multiple types of ncRNAs in the growth of this malignancy remains unknown. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) is a recently found mechanism that suggests regulatory interactions between various RNAs. It has been proposed that some ncRNAs, such as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), pseudogenes and circular RNAs (circRNAs), can share microRNA (miRNA) response elements, which may influence miRNA interaction with target RNAs and by doing so modulate gene expression at the transcriptional level. According to the analysis of relevant literature, numerous ceRNA networks are deregulated during TC development, metastasis, migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and drug resistance. As a result, learning more about these deregulations could lead to earlier diagnosis of TC patients and the discovery of effective therapeutic targets. In this review we outline the current body of information regarding the essential roles of ceRNA networks and highlight the emerging roles of some newfound ceRNA members in different TC hallmarks