Decoding the LncRNA transcriptome of esophageal cancer: identification of clinically relevant LncRNAs.

Aim: LncRNAs may act as promising biomarkers in esophageal cancer (EC). Here, we illustrate the LncRNA profile and their clinical relevance in EC.

Patients & Methods: In this study, we utilized the Cancer Genome Atlas RNA-sequencing and clinical data from 186 patients and 13 normal samples. Various statistical and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were performed to identify the biomarkers.

Results: In a differential expression analysis, we identified a total of 127 LncRNAs with more differentially expressed in EC compared with normal and showed their function using guilt-by-association analysis. We generated a LncRNAs prognostic signature for EC. Using Cox regression analysis, we showed the prognostic ability of LncRNAs' prognostic signature in training and test-cohort (p-value < 0.01).

Conclusion: In summary, we explored the LncRNA expression profile and their clinical utility in EC patients.