Diagnostic value of long noncoding RNA LINC01060 in gastric cancer

Abstract Objectives Gastric cancer (GC) is a common gastrointestinal tumor that threatens human health. The sensitivity and specificity of traditional tumor markers do not meet the requirements for detection of GC. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial for the development of tumors. Hence, in this study, LINC01060 will be evaluated for its diagnostic value in GC. Methods Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to determine the relative expression levels of LINC01060 in GC tissues and blood samples. In addition, the relationship between the expression levels of LINC01060 and the clinicopathological features of the patients was analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were utilized to assess the diagnostic efficacy of LINC01060, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) in GC. Results The expression of LINC01060 was found to have decreased in GC tissues (p<0.01). Notably, compared with peptic ulcers and healthy controls, the expression levels of LINC01060 in the whole blood of GC patients was found to have decreased. Furthermore, LINC01060 exhibited higher sensitivity and specificity than CEA and CA19-9 in differentiating GC from healthy controls (AUC=0.872, sensitivity=96.0%, specificity=76.7%). With regard to traditional biomarkers, the AUC of CEA and CA19-9 were 0.715 (sensitivity=86.0%, specificity=50.0%) and 0.634 (sensitivity=63.0%, specificity=76.0%), respectively. Remarkably, the other gastrointestinal tumors did not show any statistically significant differences. The presence of LINC01060 was not found to be significantly associated with characteristic clinicopathological factors. Conclusions LINC01060 might be useful as a biomarker for diagnosing GC and distinguishing GC patients from healthy controls.