Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To analyze the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adjacent tissues of Kazakh nationality in Xinjiang. METHODS: Differentially expressed lncRNAs in four groups of cancer and a control group were screened by gene chip technology,and the target genes were predicted by lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network. GO and KEGG databases were used for enrichment and Pathway analyses to clarify the function of lncRNA. RESULTS: A total of 318 lncRNAs were differentially expressed between the cancer and control groups. The expression levels of 193 lncRNAs were higher for the cancer than the control groups,and 125 lncRNAs were lower. Enrichment analyses show that there were 5 GO categories,including 3 cellular components,1 biological process and 1 molecular function,all of which were target genes regulated by trans-regulation. Pathway analyses show that these differentially expressed genes might be involved in two signal pathways,such as axonal guidance signal pathway and ECM receptor interaction pathway. CONCLUSION: Expression levels of lncRNAs in Kazakh esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were significantly different from that of the control group. The differentially expressed lncRNAs may be involved in the complex regulatory network of cancer and has a certain relationship with tumorigenesis and progression.

Key words: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of Kazak nationality, long non-coding RNA, target gene prediction, gene chip