The Expression of lncRNAs EVADR and LUESCC in Colorectal Tumor Tissues and Their Association With the CRC Risk

TL;DR

This study finds that two long non-coding RNAs, LUESCC and EVADR, are overexpressed in colorectal cancer tissues and may help in diagnosing and predicting the disease.

Contribution

The study identifies LUESCC and EVADR as novel lncRNAs with potential as CRC diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

Findings

LUESCC and EVADR are significantly upregulated in CRC tissues compared to normal tissues.

EVADR shows strong diagnostic potential with an AUC of 0.86 in ROC analysis.

LncRNA expression correlates with tumor differentiation grades in CRC patients.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent form of cancer globally and ranks as the second most common cause of cancer‐related deaths. Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are regulatory RNAs that influence gene expression. EVADR and LUESCC are two novel lncRNAs specifically expressed in tumors of glandular origin, such as the colon.

This study aimed to investigate the expression of EVADR and LUESCC in colorectal tumor tissues and evaluate their potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in CRC.

Fifty cases of colorectal tumor tissues, formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) from individuals with sporadic CRC, referred from the Pathology Department of Imam Hossein Hospital in Tehran, Iran, were analyzed. The expression patterns of LUESCC and EVADR lncRNAs in CRC patients were examined.

The study reveals upregulation of LUESCC and EVADR lncRNAs in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients compared to normal tissues, with fold changes of 3.52 (p < 0.001) for LUESCC and 3.08 (p < 0.001) for EVADR. ROC curve analysis indicates an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.75 for LUESCC and 0.86 for EVADR, suggesting strong diagnostic potential. Additionally, differential expression analysis shows correlations between lncRNA levels and tumor differentiation grades.

This study highlights the potential of LUESCC and EVADR lncRNAs as biomarkers for CRC diagnosis and prognosis. However, limitations include a small sample size that may affect the generalizability of the findings and a lack of functional assays to elucidate their roles in tumor biology. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore the underlying mechanisms.

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