Prognostic values of long non-coding RNA MIR22HG for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide and the second most frequent cause of cancer death. The aim of this study is to identify the association between the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MIR22HG and the clinical and tumor characteristics of patients with HCC, and to explore the prognostic significance of lncRNA MIR22HG on patients with HCC. We retrospectively reviewed 127 patients with HCC(42 female, 85 male) who were managed in our hospital between May 1(st) 2010 and June 30(th) 2016. The expressions of lncRNA MIR22HG were detected by real-time PCR. Prognostic factors were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models. For the entire cohort of 127 patients, the normalized real-time PCR showed that the expression of lncRNA MIR22HG was lower in HCC tissues compared with corresponding nontumorous tissues. MTT assay showed that si-MIR22HG remarkably inhibited the proliferation tumor cells in three HCC cell lines including SMMC-7721, Huh-7 and Hep3B. Moreover, under-expression of MIR22HG was closely related to tumor encapsulation, microvascular invasion (MVI), and TNM stage. Cox proportional hazards analysis demonstrated that lncRNA MIR22HG under-expression was an independent risk factor associated with the prognosis of patients with HCC. In conclusion, we found that lncRNA MIR22HG expressed significantly lower in HCC tissues compared with non-tumorous tissues. Under-expression of lncRNAMIR22HG was an independent risk factor associated with the prognosis of patients with HCC.