Subsequent survival analysis based on a combination of the lnc-MRPL39-2:1 signature and TNM stage showed significant differences in the OS and PFS values amongst the low- (low lnc-MRPL39-2:1 expression and early TNM stage), intermediate- (high lnc-MRPL39-2:1 expression or advanced TNM stage), and high- (high lnc-MRPL39-2:1 expression and advanced TNM stage) risk groups, thereby indicating that a combination of the lnc-MRPL39-2:1 expression and TNM stage could act as a potential marker to predict the NPC prognosis (Fig. 1H). Here, MRPL39 is linked to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.