Long noncoding RNA C17orf91 is a potential prognostic marker and functions as an oncogene in ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: This study was aimed to explore the role of long noncoding RNA C17orf91 and its potential mechanisms in ovarian cancer development. RESULTS: To assess its role in ovarian cancer, microarray datasets (GSE14407, GSE30587, and GSE17260) in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were utilized to assess the expression and clinical significance of C17orf91 in ovarian cancer. Next, loss-of-function studies were performed to establish the role of C17orf91 and the underlying mechanisms in ovarian cancer development. It was found that elevated expression of C17orf91 was observed in omental metastases when compared with matched primary ovarian tumors(GSE30587, P = 0.016). Moreover, Log Rank analysis revealed that increased expression of C17orf91 was associated with shorter progression free survival(PFS)(HR = 1.90(1.19-3.03), P = 0.008). Overall survival(OS) also showed a similar trend, but did not reach statistical significance(HR = 1.75(0.97-3.13), P = 0.061). Loss-of-function studies further demonstrated that C17orf91 repression impaired migration, invasion and viability of ovarian cancer cells, and downregulated the pro-metastatic gene, MYC, at both mRNA and protein level. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our findings revealed that C17orf91 was a potential prognostic marker and functioned as an oncogene in ovarian cancer. It remains to be seen whether modulation of C17orf91 expression will cause phenotypic changes in vivo. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13048-016-0258-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.