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Colorectal cancer: Long non-coding RNA offers new drug target A long non-coding RNA linked to colorectal cancer causes tumor progression by unleashing the activity of a protein involved in cell proliferation and spread. Researchers in China led by Xiandong Zeng from Shenyang Medical College explain why the expression of a long non-coding RNA molecule known as DANCR correlates with poor prognosis in patients and mouse models carrying colorectal cancer tissue. They showed that DANCR displaces a small regulatory microRNA from its normal binding spot on the gene transcript that encodes HSP27, a protein involved in the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells. This microRNA normally suppresses HSP27 activity, whereas DANCR, by outcompeting the microRNA, promotes HSP27 expression, leading to cell proliferation and metastasis. Drugs that block DANCR could thus help treat the disease.