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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0International Journal of Oncology

Comprehensive landscape and future perspectives of PIWI-interacting RNAs in cancer (Review)

  • Xiaoqian Yu1
  • Changlong Li1
  • Tongtao Zhuang1
  • Siqing Sun2
  • Xiaoyun He3
  • Zhenyu Ou4
  • Nannan Li5,6
  • Chunlin Ou2,7
7 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China
  2. 2Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China
  3. 3Departments of Ultrasound Imaging, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China
  4. 4Department of Urology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China
  5. 5Department of Urology, The Affiliated Changsha Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410005, P.R. China
  6. 6Department of Urology, The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan 410005, P.R. China
  7. 7National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases (Xiangya Hospital), Changsha, Hunan 410008, P.R. China
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Abstract

P-element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs with a length of ~24-32 nucleotides that specifically bind members of the PIWI protein family. Initially identified in germ cells, piRNAs have since been detected in various somatic cells. They regulate multiple physiological and pathological processes and their aberrant expression contributes to human diseases, including cancer. Recent studies indicate that piRNAs influence key tumour behaviours-including malignant proliferation, invasion and metastasis, angiogenesis, immune evasion and metabolic reprogramming-through epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. In tumour-bearing mouse models, exogenous knockdown or overexpression of piRNAs using nanodelivery systems can markedly inhibit tumour growth, supporting their potential as therapeutic targets. piRNAs are also stably expressed in tumour tissues and bodily fluids, such as serum and urine, either freely circulating or encapsulated within extracellular vesicles; their dysregulation is associated with clinicopathological features of tumours. Accordingly, piRNAs may serve as novel pathological diagnostic markers or liquid biopsy biomarkers. This review summarises piRNA expression patterns and molecular mechanisms, evaluates their clinical potential in cancer diagnosis and treatment and integrates advances in high-throughput sequencing and nanodelivery technologies to provide a theoretical basis and research foundation for the clinical translation of piRNA-related studies.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{yu2026comprehensive,
  title = {{Comprehensive landscape and future perspectives of PIWI-interacting RNAs in cancer (Review)}},
  author = {Xiaoqian Yu and Changlong Li and Tongtao Zhuang and Siqing Sun and Xiaoyun He and Zhenyu Ou and Nannan Li and Chunlin Ou},
  journal = {International Journal of Oncology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3892/ijo.2026.5946},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2026.5946},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Comprehensive landscape and future perspectives of PIWI-interacting RNAs in cancer (Review)
AU  - Xiaoqian Yu
AU  - Changlong Li
AU  - Tongtao Zhuang
AU  - Siqing Sun
AU  - Xiaoyun He
AU  - Zhenyu Ou
AU  - Nannan Li
AU  - Chunlin Ou
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/09
JO  - International Journal of Oncology
DO  - 10.3892/ijo.2026.5946
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2026.5946
AB  - P-element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs with a length of ~24-32 nucleotides that specifically bind members of the PIWI protein family. Initially identified in germ cells, piRNAs have since been detected in various somatic cells. They regulate multiple physiological and pathological processes and their aberrant expression contributes to human diseases, including cancer. Recent studies indicate that piRNAs influence key tumour behaviours-including malignant proliferation, invasion and metastasis, angiogenesis, immune evasion and metabolic reprogramming-through epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. In tumour-bearing mouse models, exogenous knockdown or overexpression of piRNAs using nanodelivery systems can markedly inhibit tumour growth, supporting their potential as therapeutic targets. piRNAs are also stably expressed in tumour tissues and bodily fluids, such as serum and urine, either freely circulating or encapsulated within extracellular vesicles; their dysregulation is associated with clinicopathological features of tumours. Accordingly, piRNAs may serve as novel pathological diagnostic markers or liquid biopsy biomarkers. This review summarises piRNA expression patterns and molecular mechanisms, evaluates their clinical potential in cancer diagnosis and treatment and integrates advances in high-throughput sequencing and nanodelivery technologies to provide a theoretical basis and research foundation for the clinical translation of piRNA-related studies.
SN  - 1019-6439
SN  - 1791-2423
ER  -