Diagnostic value of lnc-RNAs TINCR, GC1 and AFAP1-AS1 in gastric cancer differentiation from healthy people

Gastric cancer is a significant health challenge globally, necessitating the identification of novel biomarkers for improved diagnosis. Our study aimed to address this gap by investigating the diagnostic potential a set of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in gastric cancer patients compared to healthy controls. We conducted a retrospective case-control analysis involving 256 participants, including 128 gastric cancer patients and 128 healthy individuals. Alongside the measurement of serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19.9), the plasma expression profiling of eight lnc-RNAs was performed in the selected samples. Our findings revealed significant alterations in CEA and CA19.9 levels in gastric cancer patients compared to controls (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). Moreover, upregulated expression of lncRNAs, including HOTIP, BANCR, ZFAS1, TINCR, GC1, and AFAP1-AS1, were all observed in gastric cancer patients (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). Excluding lncUGC1 and FAM49B-AS, ROC curve analysis demonstrated the diagnostic potential of lncRNAs in gastric cancer detection, with notable specificity and sensitivity. Our study disclosed the diagnostic utility of plasma HOTIP, BANCR, ZFAS1, TINCR, GC1, and AFAP1-AS1 lncRNAs as appropriate diagnostic biomarkers for gastric cancer. The identification of dysregulated lncRNAs offers promising avenues for noninvasive diagnostic assessment in gastric cancer.