A potential biomarker for colorectal cancer: long non-coding RNA RP1-13P20.6.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) occupy the majority of the human genome. Their dysregulation is usually related with the procession of diseases, including tumors. Abnormally expressed lncRNAs have been found in colorectal cancer (CRC), but are not fully understood. In the current study, we determined the expression level of a novel lncRNA-RP1-13P20.6 in 99 pairs of CRC tissues compared to their matched normal adjacent tissues, using real time polymerase chain reaction. We further assessed the correlation between their expression levels and their clinicopathological parameters, and determined the potential of RP1-13P20.6 as a biomarker for CRC. The expression of lncRNA-RP1-13P20.6 in CRC tissues and cell lines decreased significantly with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.755 (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the expression levels of lncRNA-RP1-13P20.6 and the clinicopathological characteristics. The abnormal expression level and AUC values suggest that lncRNA-RP1-13P20.6 is a potential biomarker for CRC.