Abstract :
Background. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in many cancer progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression level and clinical significance of the lncRNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen pseudogene 1 (PCNAP1), in cancer tissue and the plasma of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of PCNAP1 in HCC tissue, adjacent tissue, and plasma. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was performed to assess relationships among cancer tissue, plasma PCNAP1, and plasma AFP. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess survival of HCC patient with high and low expression of PCNAP1. The survival difference was compared by the log-rank test. The use of plasma levels PCNAP1 for diagnosing HCC was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results. The expression of PCNAP1 in HCC tissue was significantly higher than in adjacent tissue (P