Expression and clinical significance of miR-139-5p in non-small cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVE: MiR-139-5p is a common tumor-associated microRNA (miRNA), which inhibits the occurrence and development of malignant tumors from various tissue sources. We detected miR-139-5p expression levels in tissues from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to explore the relationship between miR-139-5p expression and clinicopathological parameters. METHODS: MiR-139-5p expression levels were detected in cancerous and normal tissues from 60 NSCLC patients by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, using normal paracancerous tissue as a control. The relationships between miR-139-5p and clinicopathological parameters of NSCLC, including survival, were analyzed by t-tests and univariate analysis. RESULTS: MiR-139-5p expression levels were significantly reduced in NSCLC tissues compared with normal adjacent tissue. MiR-139-5p expression was not significantly associated with age, sex, or smoking history, but was related to clinical stage, pathological type, tumor size, and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, low expression of miR-139-5p, clinical stage (II/III), adenocarcinoma, tumor ≥3 cm, and lymph node metastasis were all related to overall survival. CONCLUSION: MiR-139-5p expression levels are down-regulated in NSCLC tissues, and low expression is associated with clinical stage, pathological type, tumor size, and lymph node metastasis in NSCLC patients. MiR-139-5p may act as a tumor suppressor gene in the occurrence and development of NSCLC.