{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T14:06:21Z","timestamp":1790863581564,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":112,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]],"date-time":"2023-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1690848000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cancers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>P-element-induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a new class of small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that bind components of the PIWI protein family. piRNAs are specifically expressed in different human tissues and regulate important signaling pathways. Aberrant expressions of piRNAs and PIWI proteins have been associated with tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Recent studies reported that piRNAs are contained in extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanosized lipid particles, with key roles in cell\u2013cell communication. EVs contain several bioactive molecules, such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, including emerging ncRNAs. EVs are one of the components of liquid biopsy (LB) a non-invasive method for detecting specific molecular biomarkers in liquid samples. LB could become a crucial tool for cancer diagnosis with piRNAs as biomarkers in a precision oncology approach. This review summarizes the current findings on the roles of piRNAs in different cancer types, focusing on potential theranostic applications of piRNAs contained in EVs (EV-piRNAs). Their roles as non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and as new therapeutic options have been also discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers15153912","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]],"date-time":"2023-08-01T09:24:24Z","timestamp":1690881864000},"page":"3912","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["PIWI-RNAs Small Noncoding RNAs with Smart Functions: Potential Theranostic Applications in Cancer"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2192-8938","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simona","family":"Taverna","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Translational Pharmacology (IFT), National Research Council (CNR), 90146 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Masucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, Laboratory Medicine, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Cammarata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Translational Pharmacology (IFT), National Research Council (CNR), 90146 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1025","article-title":"Non-Coding Transcript Variants of Protein-Coding Genes-What Are They Good For?","volume":"15","author":"Dhamija","year":"2018","journal-title":"RNA Biol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kumar, S., Gonzalez, E.A., Rameshwar, P., and Etchegaray, J.-P. 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