Two recent studies have demonstrated that the lncRNAs, SNHG5 (small nucleolar RNA host gene 5), and TINCR (terminal differentiation-induced ncRNA), counteract STAU1-mediated decay to promote the stabilization of specific mRNAs to control tumor cell survival in colorectal cancer and somatic tissue differentiation, respectively.29,47 Similar to TINCR and its target mRNA PGLYRP3 (peptidoglycan recognition protein 3), SMILR’s interaction with CENPF mRNA appears to occur independent of STAU1 protein interaction as revealed by RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization. This evidence concerns the gene SMILR and colorectal cancer.