The book conveys a comprehensive knowledge of long and short ncRNAs in cancer regulation and their potentials as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Topics covered include the molecular mechanisms of various classes of ncRNAs (with emphasis on long non-coding RNAs and microRNAs) in cancer, the functional roles of ncRNAs in regulating different cancer hallmarks (including proliferation, apoptosis, stem-cell properties, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metabolism, angiogenesis, tumor-host interactions and therapeutic resistance), the role of ncRNAs in regulating cancer signaling circuitry programs (highlighting their involvement in c-myc, p53 and NFkB signaling), a systemic summary of clinical and preclinical studies that evaluate the potential of ncRNA signatures for cancer diagnosis and prognosis and strategies to delivery short ncRNAs as therapeutic molecules for cancer treatment. This book may serve as a comprehensive resource for researchers, graduate students and oncologists in ncRNA and cancer research and help drug development by identifying ncRNA targets.

This book intends to report new concept of onco-spheres in cancer ecosystem.  Onco-spheres are defined as where cancer cells (living organisms) dynamically interact with nontumor cellular (other living organisms) and noncellular components (non-living environmental factors) in the ‘host’ internal environment (habitat) to construct a self-sustainable cancer ecosystem, which can be scoped at three different levels: primary/regional, distal and systemic onco-spheres. Cancer cells should be conceived as ‘living organisms’, interacting with cellular or noncellular components in the host internal environment, not only with the local tumor microenvironment (TME) but also constantly communicating with a distant organ niche as well interacting with the host’s nervous, endocrine and immune systems, to construct a self-sustainable ‘biosphere’, as we termed the tumor ecosystem. By looking at the interaction of cancer and host as a unique ecosystem, we will use ecology principles to further delineate the features of the dynamics of the tumor ecosystem. As the pioneer in proposing this concept, we feel that this full-scale overview of the tumor ecosystem is able to inform the readers about this concept, and to pave the way for designing novel therapeutic strategies on actionable targets within tumor ecosystem. The book is likely to be of interest to immunologist, biologist, medical students, researchers and general public who wish to learn more on this new concept of tumor ecosystem, and how this could be applied in many fields of research.

The book conveys a comprehensive knowledge of long and short ncRNAs in cancer regulation and their potentials as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Topics covered include the molecular mechanisms of various classes of ncRNAs (with emphasis on long non-coding RNAs and microRNAs) in cancer, the functional roles of ncRNAs in regulating different cancer hallmarks (including proliferation, apoptosis, stem-cell properties, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metabolism, angiogenesis, tumor-host interactions and therapeutic resistance), the role of ncRNAs in regulating cancer signaling circuitry programs (highlighting their involvement in c-myc, p53 and NFkB signaling), a systemic summary of clinical and preclinical studies that evaluate the potential of ncRNA signatures for cancer diagnosis and prognosis and strategies to delivery short ncRNAs as therapeutic molecules for cancer treatment. This book may serve as a comprehensive resource for researchers, graduate students and oncologists in ncRNA and cancer research and help drug development by identifying ncRNA targets.