Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are relatively rare
malignancies with a poor prognosis. For advanced BTCs, the efficacy of current chemotherapeutic approaches is limited. Consequently, there is an urgent need to deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying BTC
tumorigenesis and development for the exploration of effective targeted
therapies.
N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most abundant
RNA modifications in eukaryotes, is found usually dysregulated and involved in
tumorigenesis, progression, and drug resistance in
tumors. Numerous studies have confirmed that aberrant
m6A regulators function as either oncogenes or
tumor suppressors in BTCs by the reversible regulation of
RNA metabolism, including splicing, export, degradation and translation. In this review, we summarized the current roles of the
m6A regulators and their functional impacts on
RNA fate in BTCs. The improved understanding of
m6A modification in BTCs also provides a reasonable outlook for the exploration of new diagnostic strategies and efficient therapeutic targets.