Long non-coding RNA MIR31HG as a prognostic predictor for malignant cancers: A meta- and bioinformatics analysis

Background The possible regulatory mechanism of MIR31HG in human cancers remains unclear, and reported results of the prognostic significance of MIR31HG expression are inconsistent. Methods The meta-analysis and related bioinformatics analysis were conducted to evaluate the role of MIR31HG in tumor progression. Results The result showed that high MIR31HG expression was not related to prognosis. However, in the stratified analysis, we found that the overexpression of MIR31HG resulted in worse OS, advanced TNM stage, and tumor differentiation in respiratory system cancers. Moreover, our results also found that MIR31HG overexpression was related to shorter OS in cervical cancer patients and head and neck tumors. In contrast, the MIR31HG was lower in digestive system tumors which contributed to shorter overall survival, advanced TNM stage, and distant metastasis. Furthermore, the bioinformatics analysis showed that MIR31HG was highly expressed in normal urinary bladder, small intestine, esophagus, stomach, and duodenum and low in colon, lung, and ovary. The results obtained from FireBrowse indicated that MIR31HG was highly expressed in LUSC, CESC, HNSC, and LUAD and low in STAD and BLCA. Gene Ontology analysis showed that the co-expressed genes of MIR31HG were most enriched in the biological processes of peptide metabolism and KEGG pathways were most enriched in Ras, Rap1, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Conclusion MIR31HG may serve as a potential biomarker in human cancers.