Decreased expression of SPINT1-AS1 and SPINT1 mRNA might be independent unfavorable prognostic indicators in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Fang-Fang Shen,1,* Ying Pan,1,* Hai-Jun Yang,2 Jun-Kuo Li,2 Fang Zhao,2 Jing-Fen Su,2 Yan-Yan Li,1 Lin-Qiang Tian,1 Pan-Ting Yu,1 Yan-Tian Cao,1 Yao-Wen Zhang,2 Fu-You Zhou1,21The Key Laboratory for Tumor Translational Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, People’s Republic of China; 2Anyang Key Laboratory for Esophageal Cancer Research, Anyang Tumor Hospital, Anyang, Henan, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: The serine peptidase inhibitor, Kunitz type 1 antisense RNA1 (SPINT1-AS1), a long non-coding RNA , has been linked to cancer progression. In this study, we aimed to explore the SPINT1-AS1 expression in matched esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and normal tissues, and analyze the potential correlations of SPINT1-AS1 expression with clinicopathological characteristics, in order to evaluate its prognosis and therapeutic value.Methods: SPINT1-AS1 expression was detected in 99 cases of matched ESCC and normal tissues samples using the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method.Results: The expression level (â–³Ct) of SPINT1-AS1 and SPINT1 mRNA was significantly downregulated in ESCC tissues compared with matched normal tissues (P=0.0005; P=0.0002, respectively), and there was an obvious positive correlation between SPINT1-AS1 and SPINT1 mRNA expression. Clinicopathological characteristics indicated that SPINT1-AS1 expression was correlated with age and tumor size, while SPINT1 mRNA expression was correlated with age and gender. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of the expression level of SPINT1-AS1 and SPINT1 mRNA yielded an area under the ROC curve value of 0.638 and 0.625, respectively. The overall survival is shorter in patients with low SPINT1-AS1 expressed than those with high levels of SPINT1-AS1 (P=0.044), and SPINT1 mRNA expression level is associated with the OS (P=0.001). Univariate and multivar