Evaluation of <i>AK023391</i> lncRNA and <i>FOXO3a</i> Genes’ Expression in Tissues from Iranian Gastric Cancer Patients Compared with Healthy Tissues and Their Relationship with Clinicopathological Features

Abstract

Background: LncRNAs have been shown to be implicated in the initiation and progression of gastric cancer (GC). Here, the transcription levels of the AK023391 and FOXO3a genes, as well as their relationship with clinical traits, were examined in GC. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 50 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) GC tumor and 50 normal tissues. The RNA levels of the FOXO3a and AK023391 genes encoding lncRNAs were evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. Results: A significant difference was observed in the mRNA level of AK023391 between GC tumor and normal tissues (Mean difference = 2.683, P = 0.0371). The transcription level of FOXO3A showed no remarkably significant difference between GC and normal tissues (Mean difference = 0.9177, P = 0.2199). In addition, AK023391 and FOXO3a mRNA expression levels showed no significant associations with the clinicopathologic features of GC. Also, we found no significant correlation between the expressions of AK023391 and FOXO3a in GC tissues (R = 0.014; P = 0.34). Conclusions: Our finding suggested that there might be a significant relationship between the expression level of AK023391 and GC. Our results also showed that there was no correlation between the mRNA levels of the AK023391 and FOXO3a genes in GC tissues.