Long non-coding RNAs: Key regulators of stemness in breast cancer

Among the different types of cancer, breast cancer is one of the most diagnosed and has the highest mortality rate in the global female population. While there are multiple approaches to current antineoplastic therapies targeting breast cancer, treatment resistance, disease recurrence, and metastasis are the main challenges in breast cancer management. It is widely recognized that these issues are due, at least in part, to the involvement of cancer stem cells (CSCs). The molecular mechanisms that regulate the maintenance of stemness phenotype, and consequently, the CSC population, remain unclear. Accumulating evidence suggests that CSCs can be regulated by non-coding RNAs, including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are crucial in regulating gene expression at multiple levels, from transcriptional to post-translational. Generally, the function of lncRNAs is determined by their specific location within the cell, either in the nucleus, cytoplasm, or in both cellular spaces. Understanding how lncRNAs regulate breast CSC population is essential in developing new therapeutic strategies for managing cancer. This review aims to provide current knowledge on the mechanisms of lncRNA function in the regulation of breast CSCs, highlighting their potential as therapeutic targets or biomarkers for improving the management of breast cancer.