LncRNA-ATB Can Be a Biomarker for Diagnosis and Prognosis Evaluation of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Objective: This study was set out to inquire into the expression and clinical significance of lncRNA activated by transforming growth factor β (LncRNA-ATB) and in cancer tissues of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: LncRNA-ATB in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of 89 NSCLC patients was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and its clinical diagnostic value in NSCLC was determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Based on the median expression of LncRNAATB in NSCLC tissues, 89 patients were allocated into high- and low-expression groups. The 3-year survival rate was calculated using Kaplan-Meier method and logrank test, and compared between lncRNA-ATB high and low expression groups by Log-rank test. Cox regression quantitatively analyzed the correlation between lncRNA-ATB and the clinical prognosis of NSCLC patients. Results: LncRNAATB presented notably higher expression in NSCLC tissues as compared to adjacent tissues (P < 0.05), and was linked to smoking history, TNM stage and greatest tumor diameter (GTD) (P < 0.05). The cut-off value, sensitivity and specificity, as well as the area under the curve (AUC) of NSCLC diagnosed by LncRNA-ATB were 2.103, 73.77%, 83.15% and 0.836, respectively. Patients with high lncRNA-ATB expression (40.00%) showed statistically lower than those with low lncRNA-ATB expression (63.36%). TNM stage, differentiation degree and lncRNA-ATB expression were independent variables affecting patient prognosis. Conclusions: LncRNA-ATB, with increased expression profiles in NSCLC tissues, is involved in NSCLC progression and associated with unfavourable prognosis of patients, which can be a plausible tumor marker for NSCLC patients.