Characterization of long non-coding RNAs to reveal potential prognostic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma

Dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) plays critical roles in a variety of biological processes. Recent studies have documented that lncRNAs can function as potential biomarkers in cancer prognosis, however, little is known in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To identify lncRNA signatures that have prognostic values in HCC, we analyzed lncRNA expression profiles of 364 HCC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. A set of four lncRNAs was identified to be significantly associated with the overall survival. Based on the four-lncRNA signature, HCC patients can be classified into high- and low-risk subgroups with significantly different survival. This result can be further validated in the testing set and another independent HCC data. Further analyses showed that the prognostic value of four-lncRNA signature was independent of other clinicopathological factors. The potential functions of candidate lncRNAs were further examined using HCC cell lines, suggesting these lncRNAs might contribute to tumor development of HCC. This work indicated that lncRNA signature could be a useful marker to determine the diagnosis and predict the prognosis of HCC.