Up-regulation of the long non-coding RNA ANRIL indicates poor prognosis and promotes tumorigenesis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) plays a critical role in tumor progression. LncRNA antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) has been reported to promote tumor progression in numerous cancers. However, its expression and function in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain largely unclear. Herein, we investigated the expression and clinical significance of lncRNA ANRIL in human OSCC. The results showed that the expression of ANRIL was significantly increased in OSCC tissues and cell lines. In addition, high ANRIL expression was significantly associated with the tumor grade, TNM stage and distant metastasis (P < 0.05). Patients with high expression of ANRIL had poor overall survival as compared to those with low level (P < 0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that ANRIL could act as an independent prognostic factor in OSCC (P < 0.05). Functionally, in vitro assays showed that the suppression of ANRIL expression in OSCC cells significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. These results indicated that ANRIL might play an important role in OSCC progression, and could serve as a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in OSCC.