LncRNA GAS5 expression in non-small cell lung cancer tissues and its correlation with Ki67 and EGFR

This research explored and analyzed LncRNA GAS5 expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues and its correlation with Ki67 and EGFR.

A total of 130 samples of paraffin-embedded NSCLC tissues and para-cancerous normal tissues that were collected in the Department of Pathology from January 2014 to April 2016 were selected. The relative expression of LncRNA GAS5 and Ki67/EGFR in both NSCLC tissues and para-cancerous normal tissues were detected via RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry respectively. Subsequently, we analyzed the relative expression of LncRNA GAS5, the expression of Ki67/EGFR and its correlation with clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients, and studied the correlation between LncRNA GAS5 and Ki67/EGFR.

The relative expression of LncRNA GAS5 in NSCLC tissues was substantially less than that of the para-cancerous normal tissues (P<0.05). The positive expression rate of Ki67/EGFR in NSCLC tissues remarkably exceeded that in para-cancerous normal tissues (P<0.05). The relative expression of LncRNA GAS5 was correlated with the degree of tumor differentiation, TNM staging and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The positive expression rate of Ki67 and EGFR in NSCLC tissues was related to TNM stage and metastasis of lymph node (P<0.05). In addition, the survival of patients with high LncRNA GAS5 expression was obviously superior to those with low LncRNA GAS5 expression (P<0.05), patients with negative Ki67 had superior survival than those with positive Ki67 (P<0.05), and patients with negative EGFR had increased survival over those with positive EGFR (P<0.05). Moreover, the positive rates of Ki67 and EGFR in patients with low LncRNA GAS5 expressions were obviously higher than those with high LncRNA GAS5 expressions (P<0.05). The relative expression level of LncRNA GAS5 in NSCLC patients had a remarkably negative correlation with Ki67 and EGFR (P<0.05).

The decrease in LncRNA GAS5 expression and the over-express of Ki67/EGFR occur in NSCLC tissues, the expressions of LncRNA GAS5, Ki67 and EGFR are connected with the progression, metastasis and prognosis of tumor; and LncRNA GAS5 is related to the expression of Ki67 and EGFR. These three factors are involved in the tumorigenesis and growth of the NSCLC process.