The expression level of small non-coding RNAs derived from the first exon of protein-coding genes is predictive of cancer status.

ABSTRACT: Small non-coding RNAs (smRNAs) are known to be significantly enriched near the transcriptional start sites of genes. However, the functional relevance of these smRNAs remains unclear, and they have not been associated with human disease. Within the cancer genome atlas project (TCGA), we have generated small RNA datasets for many tumor types. In prior cancer studies, these RNAs have been regarded as transcriptional "noise," due to their apparent chaotic distribution. In contrast, we demonstrate their striking potential to distinguish efficiently between cancer and normal tissues and classify patients with cancer to subgroups of distinct survival outcomes. This potential to predict cancer status is restricted to a subset of these smRNAs, which is encoded within the first exon of genes, highl

SUBMITTER: Zovoilis A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3989671 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature