High expression of long non-coding RNA Linc-A associates with poor survival in patients with colorectal cancer

Long intergenic non-coding RNA for kinase activation (Linc-A) has been reported to enhance the occurrence and progression of breast cancer. Nevertheless, whether Linc-A is related to the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression of Linc-A in colon adenocarcinoma and explore the correlation between Linc-A and prognosis of CRC. The expression of Linc-A in human colon tissues was evaluated by qRT-PCR, which contained 15 pairs of human colon adenocarcinoma and paracancerous tissues and other 65 colon adenocarcinoma tissues. A total of 80 patients were divided into low and high expression groups according to the Linc-A levels. The levels of Linc-A in colon adenocarcinoma was higher than that in paracancerous tissues (p = 0.047). Furthermore, high expression of Linc-A was associated with advanced TNM stage (p = 0.013), positive lymph nodes (p = 0.024), low 5-year survival rate (p = 0.024) and even 10-year survival rate (p = 0.007). Besides, Linc-A, advanced age, advanced TNM stage, deep infiltration degree and positive lymph nodes were also found to be positively related to poor overall 5-year survival by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis(p < 0.05). Then, multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that Linc-A was an independent risk factor for prognosis of colon adenocarcinoma (p = 0.047). In conclusion, high expression of Linc-A is associated with advanced TNM stage, lymphatic metastasis and poor survival in patients with CRC. Linc-A may be served as a candidate prognostic biomarker for CRC.