As shown in Fig. 4, the early apoptosis rate in si-HOTAIR group (39.4%, Fig. 4C) was evidently higher than that in si-NC group (9.32%, Fig. 4B) and control group (4.73%, Fig. 4A) (P<0.05), confirming that down-regulation of lncRNA HOTAIR can suppress the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of malignant melanoma cells (Fig. 4D). The gene discussed is HOTAIR; the disease is melanoma.