Significance of long-noncoding RNA ATB and SChLAP1 expression in liquid biopsy of bone scan-confirmed metastatic prostate cancer patients

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) play an important role in the biological and pathological processes of many cancers. LncRNA SChLAP1 and ATB have been shown to be overexpressed in a variety of cancers and may be involved in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. The goal of this study was to investigate the significance of lncRNA ATB and SChLAP1 expression in liquid biopsy of metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) relative to routine investigations. Materials and Methods: urine samples from 65 PCa patients we collected to assess ATB and SChlap1 by realtime PCR, serum samples were collected to assess PSA. Bone scan and clinicopathological data including Gleason sum, clinical stage, tumor size and lymph node involvement were collected. Results: A significant elevation in lncRNA SChLAP1 and ATB expression in bone scan-diagnosed metastatic PCa patients. Both markers were significantly associated with advanced clinical stage, Gleason sum and tumor size. SCHLAP1 expression has high specificity (100%) and moderate sensitivity (68%) at a cutoff point of 2.528. ATB expression has a high sensitivity (93.75%) and specificity (75.76%) at a cutoff value of 4.55. In univariate analysis, Gleason score (> 8), tumor size (> 2), lncRNA ATB express (>4.55), lncRNA SCHAP (>2.53), and PSA (> 35 pg/ml) were independently predictive of a positive bone scan. Only ATB was significant, regardless of the other adjusted factors. Conclusions: Expression levels of LncRNA SCHALP1 and ATB in PCa patients' urine samples are promising, non-invasive markers that are associated with advanced clinicopathological parameters, including advanced clinical stage, high grade (Gleason sum) and larger tumor size.