Expression of MALAT-1 gene in epithelial ovarian cancer and its clinical significance

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of the long non-coding RNA MALAT-1 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Methods The expressions of MALAT-1 mRNA in 29 EOC tissues and 20 normal ovarian tissues were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The relationships between the expression of MALAT-1 mRNA in EOC and its clinical pathological characteristics were analyzed. Results The expression of MALAT-1 mRNA in EOC tissues was lower than that in normal ovarian tissues (0.089 ± 0.090 vs 1.450 ± 1.404, t = 4.331, P< 0.001). The expression of MALAT-1 mRNA in advanced (Ⅲ-Ⅳ) stage tissues was significantly lower than that in early (Ⅰ-Ⅱ) stage tissues (0.044±0.043 vs 0.174 ± 0.095, t =-5.125, P< 0.05). The expression of MALAT-1 mRNA was significantly lower in poorly differentiated and poorly-moderately differentiated ovarian cancer than that in well differentiated ones (0.070 ± 0.091 vs 0.161 ± 0.021, t = 2.409, P= 0.023). The expression of MALAT-1 mRNA was significantly lower in tissues with the lymphonode or omental metastasis than that in tissues without invasion (0.045±0.047 vs 0.142 ± 0.102, t = 3.378, P= 0.002). Conclusions The expression of long non-coding RNA MALAT-1 is lower in EOC, which is related to tumor grade, clinical stage, lymphonode and omental metastasis. It is suggested that MALAT-1 may play an inhibition role in the progress of ovarian cancer. Key words: Ovarian neoplasms; Long non-coding RNA; MALAT-1