Abstract
BACKGROUND: We screened long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) specifically expressed in the serum of cervical squamous carcinoma (CESC) patient samples and investigated the role of these specific lncRNAs in the diagnosis of CESC and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). METHODS: The expression levels of the lncRNAs CCAT2, LINC01133, and LINC00511 in the serum of normal controls and patient with CESC and CIN were measured using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Next, we analyzed the correlation between the serum lncRNAs levels and the clinical characteristics of CESC. Thereafter, we estimated their combined diagnostic value by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that CCAT2, LINC01133, and LINC00511 were highly expressed in the serum of patients with CESC. When these lncRNAs and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen were combined, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) value reached 0.94. We also found that the AUC value of the diagnostic model combining CCAT2 and LINC01133 reached 0.894. CONCLUSION: The serum lncRNAs (CCAT2, LINC01133, and LINC00511) and SCC may be new non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of CESC.