Long noncoding RNA NORAD, a novel competing endogenous RNA, enhances the hypoxia-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition to promote metastasis in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer, one of the top two most fatal cancers, is characterized by a desmoplastic reaction that creates a dense microenvironment, promoting hypoxia and inducing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to facilitate invasion and metastasis. Recent evidence indicates that the long noncoding RNA NORAD may be a potential oncogenic gene and that this lncRNA is significantly upregulated during hypoxia. However, the overall biological...