Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of plasma long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) actin filament-associated protein 1-antisense RNA1(AFAP1-AS1) and lncRNA sex-determining region of Y chromosome-box2 overlapping transcript (SOX2OT) as biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Blood samples of 48 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (NSCLC group) and 48 benign lung disease patients (control group) were collected. The relative expression levels of lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 and lncRNA SOX2OT were detected by real-time quantitative PCR to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the two lncRNAs as biomarkers for NSCLC. The level of serum carcinoembryonic antigen was also detected. Results: Compared with the control group，the levels of plasma lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 and lncRNA SOX2OT were significantly increased in NSCLC patients (t=6.236, 5.680, both P<0.01). The area under the receicer operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the two plasma lncRNAs which were used to distinguish NSCLC patients from control group are 0.875 (95% CI: 0.804~0.947， P<0.05) for lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 and 0.787 (95% CI: 0.691~0.883， P<0.05) for lncRNA SOX2OT. Combined detection of these two lncRNAs and serum carcinoembryonic antigen could improve the diagnostic AUC. Conclusion: NSCLC patients showed higher levels of plasma lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 and lncRNA SOX2OT, combination of which and serum carcinoembryonic antigen could improve diagnosis efficiency for NSCLC.

［Key words］long non-coding RNA; non-small cell lung cancer; AFAP1-AS1; SOX2OT; tumor biomarker