DANCR‐mediated microRNA‐665 regulates proliferation and metastasis of cervical cancer through the ERK/SMAD pathway

Emerging evidence has indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in cervical cancer (CC). However, the role of miRNA (miR)‐665 in cervical cancer remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential functions of miR‐665 in CC and to identify the underlying mechanisms of action. Herein, we show that miR‐665 was downregulated in CC tissues and cell lines, which is negatively correlated with tumor size, distant metastasis, advanced TNM stage and poor prognosis. Functionally, miR‐665 inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion and resistance of cisplatin for CC cells, as well as tumor growth. We validated that transforming growth factor beta receptor 1 (TGFBR1) was a direct target of miR‐665 and mediated the ERK/SMAD pathway. In addition, we identified miR‐665 as the competing endogenous RNA for long noncoding (lnc)‐DANCR. These observations suggested that lnc‐DANCR‐mediated miR‐665 downregulation regulates the malignant phenotype of CC cells by targeting TGFBR1 through the ERK/SMAD pathway, which may present a pathway for novel therapeutic stratagems for CC therapy.