Long Intergenic Non-Coding RNA— Linc00659— Expression Changes in Gastric Cancer

Abstract Purpose Gastric cancer (GC) as a multifactorial disease is caused by environmental, infectious, and genetic factors. The aberrant expression of lncRNAs has been considered as a crucial feature of human cancer. In this research, we assessed the expression levels of a linc00659 in GC patients.Methods Expression of linc00659 in tumor and non-tumor tissues (a total of 82 samples) was evaluated using qRT-PCR in Iranian patients. The correlation between the linc00659 expression levels and clinicopathological features was assessed.Results Linc00659 was down-regulated in more GC samples compared to controls, but we found no significant association between the linc00659 expression levels and GC risk [expression ratio of linc00659 in tumor tissues versus non-tumor tissues was 0.57 (p = 0.33)]. After classifying patients into down−/up-regulation groups, a significant association was observed between the linc00659 expression and origin of the tumor (p = 0.01).Conclusion We found a significant association of the linc00659 expression with origin of the tumor. Further investigations with large sample size are required to assess the linc00659 function in tumor genesis.