RNA Regulatory Networks: Key Hubs in the Panorama of Cancer and Emerging Therapeutic Targets

Cancer is a global health challenge. The initiation and progression of cancer are correlated with dynamic dysregulation of RNA regulatory networks. This review systematically explains how contending RNAs (including mRNA, miRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, etc.) remold gene expression programs across multiple dimensions. They do this primarily through the competing endogenous RNA sponge effect, RNA-protein complex assembly, RNA editing (A-to-I editing, m6A modification, etc.), tumorigenesis, heterogeneous evolution, and therapeutic resistance. RNA regulatory networks do not only help one to decode cancer biology but because they are dynamic in nature, they are now also being looked at as good precision targets for diagnosis and treatment. This article integrates recent findings on the emerging functions of RNA networks in tumor metabolic reprogramming, tumor immune microenvironment shaping, and cancer stem cell property maintenance, while highlighting their clinical application prospects as liquid biopsy biomarkers. Our therapies focus on assessing the potential and clinical translation bottlenecks of novel RNA-targeted interventions, including antisense oligonucleotides, RNA aptamers, and the CRISPR-Cas13 system. A dynamic adjustability made the RNA-targeted therapies promising intervention nodes in precision medicine even if most of them are still in a preclinical state.