Increased expression of long non-coding RNA TUG1 associates with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Previous studies found that lncRNA TUG1 expression was up-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the clinical significance and prognostic value of lncRNA TUG1 in HCC. Methods: Matched fresh specimens of HCC and paracarcinomatous liver tissues were obtained from 137 patients who underwent hepatic resection. qRT-PCR assay was performed to determine the expression level of lncRNA TUG1. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were performed using SPSS software. Results: lncRNA TUG1 expression was significantly higher in HCC tissues compared with normal adjacent liver tissues (P<0.001). High lncRNA TUG1 expression level was observed to be closely correlated with liver cirrhosis (P=0.015), Child-Pugh score (P=0.004), tumor size (P=0.016), tumor number (P=0.001), TNM stage (P<0.001), Edmondson-Steiner grade (P<0.001), and vein invasion (P<0.001). A significant relationship was found between lncRNA TUG1 expression and 5-year overall survival (P=0.009, log-rank test). Furthermore, in a multivariate Cox model, we found that lncRNA TUG1 expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for 5-year overall survival in HCC (HR=2.966, CI=1.273-9.783, P=0.022). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that increased lncRNA TUG1 expression levels were correlated with poor prognosis of patients with HCC, indicating that lncRNA TUG1 may serve as a novel prognostic marker for HCC after hepatic resection.