Long Non-Coding RNA CD27-AS1-208 Facilitates Melanoma Progression by Activating STAT3 Pathway

Critical Evaluation of Transcripts and Long Noncoding RNA Expression Levels in Prostate Cancer Following Radical Prostatectomy

INTRODUCTION

The clinical course of prostate cancer (PCa) is highly variable, ranging from indolent behavior to rapid metastatic progression. The Gleason score is widely accepted as the primary histologic assessment tool with significant prognostic value. However, additional biomarkers are required to better stratify patients, particularly those at intermediate risk.

METHODS

In this study, we analyzed the expression of 86 cancer hallmark genes in 171 patients with PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy and focused on the outcome of the 137 patients with postoperative R0-PSA0 status.

RESULTS

Low expression of the IGF1 and SRD52A, and high expression of TIMP2, PLAUR, S100A2, and CANX genes were associated with biochemical recurrence (BR), defined as an increase of prostate-specific antigen above 0.2 ng/mL. Furthermore, the analysis of the expression of 462 noncoding RNAs (ncRNA) in a sub-cohort of 39 patients with Gleason score 7 tumors revealed that high levels of expression of the ncRNAs LINC00624, LINC00593, LINC00482, and cd27-AS1 were significantly associated with BR. Our findings provide further evidence for tumor-promoting roles of ncRNAs in PCa patients at intermediate risk. The strong correlation between expression of LINC00624 and KRT8 gene, encoding a well-known cell surface protein present in PCa, further supports a potential contribution of this ncRNA to PCa progression.

CONCLUSION

While larger and further studies are needed to define the role of these genes/ncRNA in PCa, our findings pave the way toward the identification of a subgroup of patients at intermediate risk who may benefit from adjuvant treatments and new therapeutic agents.

SMG7-AS1 as a prognostic biomarker and predictor of immunotherapy responses for skin cutaneous melanoma

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the most life-threatening skin cancer and lacks early detection and effective treatment strategies. Many long noncoding RNAs are associated with the development of tumors and may serve as potential immunotherapeutic targets. In this study, microarray analysis was performed to screen for differentially expressed lncRNAs between SKCM and normal tissues, and SMG7-AS1 was identified as an upregulated lncRNA in SKCM. Subsequently, bioinformatic analysis revealed that dysregulation of SMG7-AS1 influences metastasis and immune infiltration. qRT-PCR of clinical samples demonstrated that the expression of SMG7-AS1 was higher in melanoma tissues. Flow cytometry showed that SMG7-AS1 plays a vital role in the cell cycle. Additionally, SMG7-AS1 was found to be associated with immunotherapy responses. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report that SMG7-AS1 is associated with SKCM and may serve as a prognostic biomarker and predictor of immunotherapy responses in SKCM.