Increased lncRNA AFAP1‐AS1 expression predicts poor prognosis in gastric cancer: Evidence from published studies and followed up verification
Fujiao Duan, Yilin Li, Yajing Feng, Guanghui Niu, Junhui Chai, Kaijuan Wang
Abstract
AIM: The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of long non-coding RNA actin fiber-associated protein-1 antisense RNA 1 (lncRNA AFAP1-AS1) on the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: Based on meta-analysis, the association between the expression of AFAP1-AS1 and the prognosis of GC was estimated. GC tissue and non-cancer tissues from 136 patients were determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and verified by Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were conducted to analyze the correlation between AFAP1-AS1 expression and GC prognosis. RESULTS: The pooled analysis from five studies revealed that the AFAP1-AS1 expression was significantly associated with GC overall survival (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.49 and 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.02-3.08, p < 0.001). Compared with non-cancer tissues, AFAP1-AS1 expression level of GC tissues were significantly upregulated (p < 0.001), which was confirmed by the results of GEPIA. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.893, and the high expression of AFAP1-AS1 was correlated with poor prognosis in patients with GC (p = 0.005). Clinical grade (HR = 1.912, 95% CI: 1.246-2.934, p = 0.003), pathologic tumor node metastasis (pTNM) (HR = 2.393, 95% CI: 1.431-4.033, p = 0.001), log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) (HR = 2.910, 95% CI: 1.787-4.793, p < 0.001) and AFAP1-AS1 expression (HR = 2.393, 95% CI: 1.869-3.064, p < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for GC revealed by multivariate Cox-regression analysis. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the AFAP1-AS1 may be a novel biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of GC.