Systematic identification of dysregulated lncRNAs associated with platinum-based chemotherapy response across 11 cancer types.

Aberrant expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) leads to the development of chemoresistance by regulating a series of biological processes, which is one of the major obstacles in the cancer treatment. This study aimed to identify some key lncRNAs that are associated with platinum-based chemoresistance in multiple cancers. Regulating the expression levels of these lncRNAs can enhance the sensitivity of patients to chemotherapy drugs and improve the therapeutic effect of cancer. By systematically analyzing 648 samples regarding platinum drug response from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we have identified 32 dysregulated lncRNAs across 11 cancer types that could affect platinum-based chemotherapy response, of which 78.125% (25/32) were significantly down-regulated in drug-resistant samples. Drug response prediction model that had been constructed based on the expression pattern of these dysregulated lncRNAs could accurately predict the chemotherapy response of tumor patients, and the area under the curve (AUC) was between 0.8034 and 0.9984. In particular, all of these dysregulated lncRNAs that we identified were cancer-specific. They were significantly associated with the survival of tumor patients and could serve as cancer-specific biomarkers for prognosis. In conclusion, this study will contribute to improving the drug resistance of tumor patients during chemotherapy, and it is of real significance for selecting effective chemotherapy drugs and achieving precision medicine.