Identification of lncRNAs that regulate biological processes required for breast cancer progression

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting Canadian women. Advancements in early detection and treatments have helped many women diagnosed with breast cancer overcome the disease. Unfortunately, some still succumb to the illness because their cancer is resistant to treatment and has spread to other parts of the body. These breast cancer patients require new, effective treatments to improve their survival. The development of such therapies will require increased knowledge of how and why breast cancers grow and spread at the cellular level. A class of molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as important regulators of breast cancer growth, spread, and drug resistance. Our goal is to expand the knowledge of how lncRNAs regulate these critical processes. For this purpose, we screened thousands of lncRNAs to identify those critically important in breast cancer. Our data suggest that we have identified three lncRNAs that are new important regulators of cellular processes necessary for breast cancer growth, spread, and avoidance of detection by the immune system. We propose experiments that will characterize the effects of these lncRNAs in breast cancer cell growth and spread. Further, we will determine the mechanisms by which they regulate these critical breast cancer processes. We will also investigate if inhibiting these lncRNAs stop tumor growth. This research will provide new information and fundamental insights into how lncRNAs promote breast cancer growth and spread. Our findings will have a meaningful impact on our understanding of cancer and identify novel drug targets to develop more effective treatments. Our work will ultimately lead to improved survival outcomes for patients.