LAUSR

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) HAND2‐AS1 is a well‐characterized tumor suppressor in several types of malignancies, while its role in esophagus squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is unknown. In this study, we found that lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 was downregulated, while microRNA‐21 ( miRNA‐21) was upregulated in tumor tissues than in adjacent healthy tissues of ESCC patients. Expression levels of lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 and miRNA‐21 were significantly and inversely correlated in tumor tissues but not in healthy tissues. Plasma levels of lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 were lower in ESCC patients than in healthy controls, and downregulation of plasma lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 distinguished early stage ESCC patients from healthy controls. lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 overexpression resulted in downregulation of miRNA‐21 in cells of ESCC cell lines and inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. miRNA‐21 overexpression failed to affect lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 expression but significantly attenuated the inhibitory effect of lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 overexpression on cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Therefore, lncRNA HAND2‐AS1 may inhibit cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in ESCC by regulating miRNA‐21.