LncRNA NKILA as a key regulator in cancer pathogenesis: insights into its mechanisms and clinical implications

The NF-κB interacting LncRNA (NKILA) is a recently identified long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) located on chromosome 20q13.31. Studies have indicated that abnormal levels of NKILA expression in different types of cancer can function as either oncogenes or tumour suppressors and play a role in the development of diverse malignancies. Moreover, NKILA expression levels correlate closely with the clinical features and prognosis of cancer patients, underscoring its potential significance in clinical practice. Multiple studies have shown that NKILA acts as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA), participating in several crucial signalling pathways and interacting with proteins to regulate gene expression. Furthermore, NKILA affects essential aspects of cancer cell behaviour, such as proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and resistance to treatment. NKILA downregulation is associated with increased tumour size, advanced pathological stage, increased lymph node metastasis, and poor patient prognosis. This article reviews the expression patterns, clinical relevance, molecular mechanisms, and biological functions of NKILA, investigates its potential clinical roles as a therapeutic target and diagnostic marker, and evaluates its efficacy in treating various tumours.