Downregulation of a novel long non-coding RNA, LOC389332, is associated with poor prognosis and tumor progression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

It has been demonstrated that various long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may have key roles in various types of cancer. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common subtype of all RCCs, accounting for 70-80% of all cases. The present study identified a novel lncRNA and investigated its clinical significance and physiological function in ccRCC. The expression pattern of the novel lncRNA LOC389332 in 30 ccRCC tissue samples was examined using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results demonstrated that LOC389332 expression was markedly lower in ccRCC tissues compared with that in matched adjacent non-tumor tissues. Of note, downregulation of LOC389332 expression was significantly associated with the tumor American Joint Commission on Cancer stage (P=0.001), Fuhrman grade (P=0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P<0.001). Furthermore, patients with ccRCC with lower levels of LOC389332 expression had a shorter overall survival time than those with higher LOC389332 expression. A gain-of-function study was used to evaluate the biological function of LOC389332 in ccRCC and the results suggested that restoration of LOC389332 expression inhibited the growth and migration of the 786-O and 769-P cell lines. Therefore, the results of the present study demonstrated that LOC389332 is a novel lncRNA involved in ccRCC progression and may be a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. Ectopic overexpression of LOC389332 may represent a therapeutic strategy for ccRCC.