Novel long non-coding RNA RP11-119F7.4 as a potential biomarker for the development and progression of gastric cancer

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be involved in gene dysregulation in numerous different types of cancer, and have subsequently emerged as a major series of regulatory molecules that participate in a broad range of biological and pathological processes. However, the correlation between the expression levels of lncRNAs and their clinical significance in gastric cancer remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential correlation between lncRNA RP11-119F7.4 expression and clinicopathological characteristics in gastric cancer, and to identify whether it can serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker of the disease. Total RNA was extracted from the tissues of 96 patients with gastric cancer, in addition to matched non-tumor adjacent tissues (NATs). Following reverse transcription, lncRNA RP11-119F7.4 expression levels were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and the association with patient clinicopathological characteristics was further analyzed. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine the diagnostic value of RP11-119F7.4. The results demonstrated that RP11-119F7.4 expression was significantly downregulated in the gastric cancer tissues compared with the matched NATs (P<0.001) and was significantly associated with the macroscopic type (P=0.041) and Lauren grade (P=0.020). The area under the ROC curve was 0.637 (P<0.001). However, no statistically significant differences were observed between RP11-119F7.4 expression and patient survival. The results of the present study indicate that lncRNA RP11-119F7.4 may be involved in carcinogenesis and may prove useful as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognostic significance in patients with gastric cancer.