LncRNA SNHG6 plays an oncogenic role in colorectal cancer and can be used as a prognostic biomarker for solid tumors

Abstract Small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) has been recognized as an oncogene in numerous cancers and overexpression of SNHG6 was found to promote colorectal cancer (CRC). Hence, we performed a meta‐analysis to examine the clinical importance of the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG6. Moreover, comprehensive identification of RNA‐binding proteins‐mass spectrometry (ChIRP‐MS) was conducted to explore the carcinogenic mechanism of lncRNA SNHG6 in CRC. Fourteen studies conducted on 1,139 patients were included in this meta‐analysis. We also constructed the protein–protein interactive (PPI) network in string based on the ChIRP‐MS results and cytoscape was used to identify core modules in the PPI network, which were then analyzed using the bioinformatics websites, cancer single‐cell state atlas (CancerSEA) and G:profilter. The clinical outcomes of the meta‐analysis indicated that higher expression of SNHG6 was related with a poorer survival outcome (overall survival: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.92; 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 1.48, 2.49; p < .0001; disease‐free survival: HR = 1.84; 95% Cl: 1.02, 3.34; p = .044), higher tumor stage (odds ratio [OR] = 3.35; 95% Cl: 2.57, 4.37; p < .0001), distant metastasis (OR = 1.83; 95% Cl: 1.11, 2.99; p = .017) and lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.33; 95% Cl: 0.93, 1.89; p = .119). The ChIRP‐MS results showed that core Module 1 of the PPI was significant in ribosomes and core Module 2 was mainly related to spliceosomes and messenger RNA processing. In conclusion, a higher expression of SNHG6 was found to be associated with a poorer survival outcome, high tumor stage, and distant metastasis in various solid tumors. SNHG6 was also found to be able to affect the processes of transcription and translation to promote CRC.