High Expression of lncRNA HEIH is Helpful in the Diagnosis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Predicts Poor Prognosis

Abstract

\n Objective: This study aims to investigate the expression and clinical value of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HEIH in peripheral blood of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods: Healthy subjects (N=70), patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC, N=70) and patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD, N=80) were included. LncRNA HEIH expression in peripheral blood of included subjects was detected. According to the median expression of lncRNA HEIH, LUSC and LUAD patients were divided into lncRNA HEIH high/low expression group. The correlation between lncRNA HEIH and clinical indicators of patients was analyzed. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of lncRNA HEIH and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in LUSC and LUAD patients. MedCalc-Comparison of ROC curves was used to compare the area under ROC curve. The cumulative survival rates of lncRNA HEIH high/low expression group were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier curve.Results: LncRNA HEIH in peripheral blood of LUSC and LUAD patients was higher than that in healthy controls, with no evident difference between LUSC and LUAD groups. LUSC and LUAD patients with high lncRNA HEIH expression had larger tumor size, higher CEA level and tumor stage, and higher risk of lymph node metastasis and distal metastasis. LncRNA HEIH had higher diagnostic efficiency than CEA in NSCLC patients. High expression of lncRNA HEIH predicted poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC.Conclusions: High expression of lncRNA HEIH is helpful in the diagnosis of NSCLC and predicts poor prognosis.