Bioinformatics analyses and biological function of lncRNA ZFPM2‑AS1 and ZFPM2 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma

: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most lethal malignant tumors worldwide; however, the etiology of HCC still remains poorly understood. In the present study, cancer-omics databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, GTEx and Gene Expression Omnibus, were systematically analyzed in order to investigate the role of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) zinc finger protein, FOG family member 2-antisense 1 (ZFPM2-AS1) and the zinc finger protein, FOG family member 2 (ZFPM2) gene in the occurrence and progression of HCC. It was identified that the expression levels of lncRNA ZFPM2-AS1 were significantly increased in HCC tissues, whereas expression levels of the ZFPM2 gene were significantly decreased in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues. Higher expression levels of ZFPM2-AS1 were significantly associated with a less favorable prognosis of HCC, whereas higher expression levels of the ZFPM2 gene were associated with a more favorable prognosis of HCC. Genetic alterations in the ZFPM2 gene may contribute to a worse prognosis of HCC. Validation of the GSE14520 dataset also demon stared that ZFPM2 gene expression levels were significantly decreased in HCC tissues (P 0.8. Using integrated strategies, the present study demonstrated that lncRNA ZFPM2-AS1 and the ZFPM2 gene may contribute to the occurrence and prognosis of HCC. These findings may provide a novel understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the occurrence and prognosis of HCC.