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Introduction
Liver cancer is a highly malignant tumor and has always been a significant threat to human health due to its high mortality and incidence rates [1, 2–3]. Globally, liver cancer is associated with the fourth greatest mortality rate among malignant tumors, with hepatocellular carcinoma constituting 80–90% of cases [4]. Each year, it is estimated that approximately 800,000 individuals worldwide are diagnosed with liver cancer, with nearly half of these cases occurring in China, highlighting the geographic burden of this disease [5, 6]. Due to the insidious onset of the disease, the initial clinical manifestations are not apparent, resulting in the majority of patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma being in the advanced phase at the time of treatment commencement [7, 8–9]. Current therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, and targeted treatments, have limited efficacy in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, emphasizing the urgent need to discover and validate novel biomarkers. Such advances would aid in early detection and accurate prognosis, while also fostering the development of innovative therapeutic strategies to improve patient outcomes.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules exceeding 200 nucleotides in length, characterized by the absence of protein-coding capacity but possessing diverse regulatory functions in cellular processes [10, 11, 12, 13–14]. The risk of cancer is predominantly linked to abnormal expression of lncRNA, which exhibits autonomous expression in various cancers and tissues [15, 16–17]. Among them, HULC, HOTAIR, H19, and so on have been investigated in liver cancer [18, 19]. Autophagy is an intracellular self-cleaning pathway [20]. Autophagy is the mechanism by which cells maintain physiological equilibrium in a hostile environment [21, 22]. Autophagy is considered a dual-pronged instrument within the field of cancer, as it serves a twofold purpose in promoting cancer growth, movement, and resistance to medication [23]. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway centrally regulates cellular processes like proliferation and survival by integrating signals from growth factors and nutrients. Dysregulation of this pathway is common in hepatocellular carcinoma and contributes to tumor growth and malignancy, underscoring mTOR as a key therapeutic target.
Numerous studies have established a strong correlation between autophagy and lncRNAs [24, 25]. Recent evidence indicates that lncRNAs contribute to the progression of cancer by influencing the transcription and posttranscriptional regulation of autophagy-related genes (ATGs), thereby...