Emerging Role of Long Non-Coding RNA NEAT1 in Thyroid Cancer: Review Article

Thyroid cancer is the most prevalent endocrine malignancy, with a steadily increasing incidence worldwide. Although much of this rise has been attributed to improved diagnostic techniques and overdiagnosis of indolent tumors, molecular mechanisms underlying thyroid carcinogenesis continue to gain increasing attention. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as key regulators of gene expression and cellular homeostasis, with growing evidence supporting their involvement in cancer development and progression. Nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), a nuclear lncRNA essential for paraspeckle formation, has been implicated in multiple human malignancies, acting either as an oncogene or tumor suppressor depending on the cellular context. Recent studies have demonstrated aberrant expression of NEAT1 in thyroid cancer, particularly papillary thyroid carcinoma, where it modulates tumor growth, invasion, apoptosis, and treatment resistance through various molecular pathways.