Role of melatonin in carcinogenesis and metastasis: From mechanistic insights to intermeshed networks of noncoding RNAs

In recent years, seminal studies have been devoted to unraveling the puzzling mysteries associated with the cancer preventive/inhibitory role of melatonin. Our current knowledge of the translational mechanisms and the detailed structural insights have highlighted the characteristically exclusive role of melatonin in the inhibition of carcinogenesis and metastatic dissemination. This mini-review outlines recent discoveries related to mechanistic role of melatonin in prevention of carcinogenesis and metastasis. Moreover, another exciting facet of this mini-review is related to phenomenal breakthroughs linked with regulation of noncoding RNAs by melatonin in wide variety of cancers. There has been a paradigm shift in our understanding related to metamorphosis of simplistic view about melatonin from a sleep inducer to mechanistic role of melatonin in cancer prevention. Furthermore, regulation of noncoding RNAs particularly long noncoding RNAs and circular RNAs is adding another layer of complexity.