A novel lncRNA signature prediction effect and comparison with clinical staging systems for postoperative HBV-HCC patients.

AIM We aimed to establish and validate a novel prognostic long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) signature for postoperative hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) patients and to compare this model with other available clinical staging systems. METHODS The expression data of 374 HCC samples were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Cox regression analysis was performed to develop the lncRNA model. The expression levels of lncRNAs were detected by qRT-PCR in HBV-HCC. Then, qRT-PCR-based signature and nomogram were constructed and compared with other clinical staging systems in clinical cohort. Furthermore, qRT-PCR, RNA fluorescent in situ hybridization, and comprehensive bioinformatics analyses were conducted in vitro. RESULTS Five lncRNAs were identified and used to construct the prognostic signature. This model showed the highest predictive efficiency in HBV-HCC patients. Subsequently, we found that compared with normal livers, all lncRNAs were highly expressed in HBV-HCC. Importantly, a four-lncRNA signature, containing LINC01116, DDX11-AS1, LUCAT1 and FIRRE, was developed based on the qRT-PCR data in clinical HBV-HCC cohort. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients in low-risk group had significantly longer overall survival than patients in high-risk group. Additionally, the qRT-PCR-based 4-lncRNA formula was proven to be an independent prognostic factor, and had the best predictive efficiency for survival (AUC=0.875, 95% CI=0.769-0.981) compared to other six clinical staging systems in postoperative HBV-HCC patients. Finally, the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression and enrichment analyses revealed the potential regulatory mechanisms of the identified lncRNAs. CONCLUSIONS The study establish an effective prognostic lncRNA signature and provide potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HBV-HCC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.