Down-regulation of long non-coding RNA TINCR induces cell dedifferentiation and predicts progression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

To screen lncRNAs and mRNAs that are deregulated in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), we comparatively analyzed the lncRNAs and mRNAs profiles by using 10 OSCC patient samples and paired adjacent non-cancerous counterparts. According to the microarray data, we identified 1603 transcripts that were upregulated with more than 2-fold change in OSCC samples in contrast to non-cancerous adjacent tissues (NATs) while 989 transcripts were downregulated by more than 2-fold. A total of 10 fresh human HNSCC specimens and their paired adjacent non-cancerous counterparts were enrolled in this study, which were pathologically diagnosed. All patients received radical surgery and none received any form of pre-surgical adjuvant therapy.