Functional characterization of dysregulated LncRNAs in BRCA and CESC highlights their role in cancer prognosis

This study examines the contribution of dysregulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to disease progression and prognosis in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) and cervical squamous cell carcinoma with endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Comparative analyses identified both shared and cancer-specific lncRNAs linked to tumorigenesis. Survival analysis using the Kaplan–Meier method highlighted several candidates with prognostic relevance. Notably, FAM83H-AS1 showed increased expression in advanced stages of BRCA and was linked with lymph node involvement and metastatic status. Its elevated expression was associated with poor survival outcomes in both BRCA and CESC cohorts. In contrast, lncRNAs such as FGF14-AS2, which were downregulated, demonstrated links to tumor-suppressive mechanisms and improved survival in BRCA patients. Subcellular localization analysis indicated predominant cytoplasmic presence of FAM83H-AS1, implying possible roles in post-transcriptional regulation. To support our in-silico observations, we carried out qRT-PCR experiments in breast cancer cell lines with varying degrees of aggressiveness, which confirmed the differential expression patterns of these lncRNAs. Overall, our findings highlight the clinical importance of lncRNA dysregulation in gynaecological cancers and point to their potential utility as biomarkers for prognosis and targeted therapy.