The Janus-faced suppressor of cytokine signaling 2-antisense transcript 1 in human cancers: from molecular mechanisms to clinical translation.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2-antisense transcript 1 (SOCS2-AS1) is a long non-coding RNA transcribed from the antisense strand of SOCS2. Emerging evidence links its aberrant expression to clinical outcomes in multiple cancers. This work summarizes the context-dependent functions of SOCS2-AS1: it acts as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer; but exhibits oncogenic properties in papillary thyroid cancer, glioma and prostate cancer. Mechanistically, SOCS2-AS1 modulates cancer cell behavior via microRNA sponging, protein interactions and signaling pathway regulation. In this review, we also evaluate its potential as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker and discuss therapeutic implications. By synthesizing current knowledge, this work highlights its clinical relevance and identifies knowledge gaps that warrant further investigation into its tumor-specific regulatory mechanisms.