Upregulated Expression of lncRNA GAPLINC in Tissue Samples of Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

LncRNA GAPLINC, a newly identified long non-coding RNA, has been reported to be aberrantly expressed in several cancer types and plays an important role in tumor progression. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common form of lung cancer in which proliferation, metastasis, and invasion are thought to be related to the abnormal expression of some lncRNAs. This study aimed to determine the expression level of lncRNA GAPLINC in tissue samples of patients with NSCLC and its association with some patients’ characteristics. A total of 53 pairs of cancerous and normal adjacent tissues from NSCLC patients and 33 control tissue samples taken from patients with non-cancerous lung disease were analyzed. The expression level of GAPLINC was determined by using the qRT-PCR method. The results showed that GAPLINC had upregulated expression in cancer tissue samples compared to normal adjacent tissues of the same patients and tissue samples of control. Moreover, GAPLINC expression level was higher in the group of patients who smoked compared to the group that did not smoke. This result shows that the upregulated expression of GAPLINC in tissue samples is associated with poor prognosis of the disease and has the potential to predict NSCLC outcomes. This study has provided initial data on the expression level of lncRNA GAPLINC in tissue samples of NSCLC patients and can serve as a premise for further research on lncRNA in this group of patients.