Long non-coding RNA LINC01627 is a prognostic risk factor for epithelial ovarian cancer

Ovarian malignancies are commonly diagnosed cancers of the female reproductive system. Recent studies have revealed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can regulate a variety of oncological processes. In the present study, ovarian cancer expression datasets were searched in the GEO database using the GPL570 platform. Differential lncRNA expression between normal ovarian tissues and ovarian tumors were analyzed using the R package ‘limma’, and patient prognosis was accessed using the package ‘survival’. Four databases, GSE14001, GSE18520, GSE38666 and GSE40595, were used for the analysis. A total of 64 lncRNAs were highly expressed and 4 were downregulated within these four databases. Prognostic analysis of the 68 lncRNAs in the four databases was performed, and revealed that the expression of long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 1627 (LINC01627) was negatively associated with patient prognosis in GSE19829 and GSE62193; there was no association between LINC01627 expression and patient's prognosis in GSE18520 or GSE63885. To investigate the proposed association between LINC01627 and patient prognosis, meta-analysis revealed that the total hazard ratio was 1.38 and the 95% confidence interval was between 1.04 and 1.83. Subgroup analysis revealed that LINC01627 may predict patient prognosis in high-grade, advanced and serous epithelial ovarian cancer, which was a risk factor for prognosis. Further assessment was performed in clinical samples and ovarian cancer cells, where the knockdown of LINC01627 inhibited the proliferative and migratory capacities of HO8910 and HEY cells. Collectively, the present results suggested that lncRNA LINC01627 may serve an oncogenic role in the development of epithelial ovarian tumors.