Wang WW, et al. - The clinical utility of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in pleural effusion as diagnostic and predictive markers for lung cancer-associated malignant pleural effusion (MPE) [LC-MPE] was investigated. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the sensitivity and specificity of the identified lncRNAs and other biomarkers were assessed. Findings demonstrated the potential utility of 3 lncRNAs (MALAT1, H19, and CUDR) as diagnostic markers in LC-MPE. In distinguishing LC-MPE from benign pleural effusion (BPE), pleural effusion lncRNAs were found to be effective. The combination of MALAT1 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was found to be more effective for LC-MPE diagnosis. An inverse correlation was noted between baseline MALAT1 expression in pleural fluid and chemotherapy response in patients with LC-MPE.