MicroRNA-200a-3p and GATA6 are abnormally expressed in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and exhibit high clinical diagnostic efficacy

Lung cancer is one of the main threats to human health. Survival of patients with lung cancer depends on timely detection and diagnosis. Among the genetic irregularities that control cancer development and progression, there are microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs). The present study aimed to investigate the expression patterns of miR-200a-3p and transcription factor GATA-6 (GATA6) in peripheral blood of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their clinical significance. The expression patterns of miR-200a-3p and GATA6 in the peripheral blood of patients with NSCLC and healthy subjects were measured via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The correlation between GATA6/miR-200a-3p expression and their diagnostic efficacy were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The association between miR-200a-3p/GATA6 expression with the patient clinicopathological characteristics, and their correlation with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron specific enolase (NSE) and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCAg) were evaluated. The cumulative survival rate was examined, and whether miR-200a-3p and GATA6 expression levels were independently correlated with the prognosis of NSCLC was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression model. The results demonstrated that the expression of miR-200a-3p was high and that of GATA6 was low in the peripheral blood of patients with NSCLC, and both exhibited high clinical diagnostic efficacy. miR-200a-3p was revealed to target GATA6 by dual-luciferase assay. miR-200a-3p in the peripheral blood was correlated with TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and distal metastasis, while GATA6 in the peripheral blood was correlated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. miR-200a-3p and GATA6 were positively correlated with CEA and SCCAg, but not with NSE. High expression of miR-200a-3p and low expression of GATA6 predicted poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC. After adjusting for TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, distance metastasis, GATA6, CEA, NSE and SCCAg in the logistic regression model, it was indicated that the high expression of miR-200a-3p increased the risk of death in patients with NSCLC. Collectively, it was revealed that miR-200a-3p and GATA6 were abnormally expressed in the peripheral blood of patients with NSCLC. Serum levels of miR-200a-3p >1.475 and GATA6 <1.195 may assist the early diagnosis of NSCLC. GATA6 may function in NSCLC as a miR-200a-3p target, which may provide a future reference for NSCLC early diagnosis and treatment.