BLACAT1 is negatively associated with prognosis in patients with NSCLC and inhibits cell progression, metastasis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition through down-regulating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical significance and molecular mechanism of bladder cancer-associated transcript 1 (BLACAT1) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Overall, 156 NSCLC cancer patients were recruited and divided into high and low BLACAT1 level group by the median value of BLACAT1 expression. The associations of BLACAT1 expression with the clinicopathological features and prognosis were evaluated. A series of in vitro assays were performed to explore the role of BLACAT1 on NSCLC progression and metastasis. RESULTS: Patients with high BLACAT1 expression had shorter overall survival and progression-free survival than those with low BLACAT1 expression. Multivariate analyses showed that BLACAT1 was an independent prognostic factor of survival in NSCLC patients. In vitro assays showed that the downregulation of BLACAT1 significantly suppressed cell progression, migration, and invasion. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition was also inhibited when BLACAT1 was silenced, indicated by an increase in E-cadherin expression and a decrease in vimentin expression by mediating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: BLACAT1 should be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for NSCLC.