Open AccessAssociation of microRNA-33a Molecular Signature with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis after Chemotherapy
Author(s) -
Likun Hou,
YuShui Ma,
Yang Han,
GaiXia Lu,
Pan Luo,
Zhengyan Chang,
Ruting Xie,
Haojie Yang,
Li Chai,
Mingxiang Cai,
TingMiao Wu,
Fei Yu,
Shanshan Qin,
Zhongwei Lv,
Chunyan Wu,
Da Fu
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0170431
Subject(s) - lung cancer , oncology , proportional hazards model , medicine , survival analysis , biomarker , multivariate analysis , chemotherapy , microrna , adenocarcinoma , univariate analysis , cancer , biology , gene , biochemistry
Objective This study aims to explore the expression pattern and prognostic significance of miR-33a in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods MiR-33a expression in NSCLC was analyzed in silico using the GEO database and was subsequently confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR in 147 NSCLC biopsies. Among these, 32 of these biopsies were paired with adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. The survival analysis of NSCLC by Kaplan-Meier estimates was stratified based on miR-33a expression. In addition, multivariate survival analysis in corresponding groups of NSCLC patients was conducted by Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results The in silico analysis of miR-33a expression in NSCLC resulted to its down-regulation in different tumor types. The expression level of miR-33a was lower in each grade of NSCLC tumor biopsies than in normal lung tissues. Univariate and multivariate survival analysis further established that low miR-33a expression was an important risk factor for overall survival and disease free survival in NSCLC patients. Conclusion Our study implied that miR-33a expression levels may have an essential role in NSCLC progression, and could act as a specific and sensitive biomarker for NSCLC patients who have undergone adjuvant chemotherapy.