Decreased expression of lncRNA GAS5 predicts a poor prognosis in cervical cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality for women around the world. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been investigated as a new class of regulators of cellular processes, such as cell growth, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis. Although downregulation of lncRNA GAS5 in several cancers has been studied, its role in cervical cancer remains unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression, clinical significance and biological role in cervical cancer.

METHODS: Expression of GAS5 was analyzed in cervical cancer tissues by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). And its association with overall survival of patients was analyzed by statistical analysis. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to suppress GAS5 expression in cervical cancer cells. In vitro assays were performed to further explore the biological functions of GAS5 in cervical cancer.

RESULTS: We found that GAS5 expression was markedly downregulated in cervical cancer tissues than in corresponding adjacent normal tissues. Decreased GAS5 expression was significantly correlated with FIGO stage, vascular invasion and lymph node metastasis. Moreover, cervical cancer patients with GAS5 lower expression have shown significantly poorer overall survival than those with higher GAS5 expression. And GAS5 expression was an independent prognostic marker of overall survival in a multivariate analysis. In vitro assays our data indicated that knockdown of GAS5 promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study presents that lncRNA GAS5 is a novel molecule involved in cervical cancer progression, which provide a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.