UCA1
Overview
UCA1 (Urothelial Carcinoma Associated 1) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) originally identified in bladder urothelial carcinoma. In the expanded TCGA bladder cancer corpus, UCA1 was identified as one of the most prominently cancer-associated lncRNAs, differentially expressed across the five mRNA subtypes and enriched in the luminal-papillary subtype.
Alterations observed in the corpus
- UCA1 is one of the most highly expressed cancer-associated lncRNAs in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (BLCA); it is among the lncRNAs defining lncRNA cluster 3, which corresponds to the best-survival luminal-papillary subset in the 412-tumor expanded TCGA cohort PMID:28988769.
Cancer types (linked)
- BLCA — high expression in lncRNA cluster 3, enriched in the luminal-papillary mRNA subtype; lncRNA clusters associated with purity, EMT score, CIS gene-set scores, and 5-year survival (lncRNA p=0.015) PMID:28988769.
Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity
- UCA1 high expression in lncRNA cluster 3 is associated with depletion of TP53 mutations and enrichment of FGFR3 mutations/fusions, consistent with the luminal-papillary molecular context PMID:28988769.
Therapeutic relevance
- No direct therapeutic intervention targeting UCA1 is reported in the corpus. Its association with the best-survival luminal-papillary subtype suggests potential as a prognostic biomarker rather than a therapeutic target.
Open questions
- The mechanistic role of UCA1 in driving the luminal-papillary phenotype vs serving as a passenger marker of differentiation state is not resolved in the corpus PMID:28988769.
Sources
This page was processed by crosslinker on 2026-05-15.