miR-140-3p enhances cisplatin sensitivity and attenuates stem cell-like properties through repressing Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most predominant subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is experiencing the fastest growth rate in incidence. Chemoresistance and the presence of cancer stem cells are considered to be the main obstacles preventing the successful treatment of patients with NSCLC, the molecular mechanism of which remains poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of microRNA (miR)-140-3p on cisplatin sensitivity and stem cell-like properties of LUAD cells. Analysis of publicly available data demonstrated that miR-140-3p expression was downregulated in LUAD, and positively associated with the overall survival rate of patients. In addition, transfection with the miR-140-3p mimic reduced LUAD cell viability and induced apoptosis following treatment with cisplatin whilst decreasing stem cell-like properties. miR-140-3p overexpression was also found to attenuate cisplatin resistance and reduce stem cell-like properties in LUAD cells by suppressing Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, all of which were reversed by the overexpression of ß-catenin. Taken together, results of the present study suggest miR-140-3p to be an effective therapeutic strategy for patients with LUAD.

Choice of postoperative radiation for stage IIIA pathologic N2 non-small cell lung cancer: impact of metastatic lymph node number.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative radiation (PORT) is an option for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with resectable stage IIIA pathological N2 status (pN2). For patients with PORT, this study aims to investigate the impact of the exact number of positive lymph nodes (LNs) on overall survival (OS) and lung cancer-specific survival (LCSS). METHODS: Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, we identified 3373 patients with stage IIIA pathological N2 status (pN2) NSCLC who underwent a lobectomy or pneumonectomy from 2004 to 2013. OS and LCSS were compared among patients coded as receiving PORT or observation. The proportional hazards model was applied for investigation. RESULTS: OS and LCSS favored PORT for patients with stage IIIA (pN2) NSCLC. Multivariable analyses showed that PORT and the exact number of positive LNs (n ≤ 3) were independently associated with better OS and LCSS. Both better OS and LCSS emerged for positive LNs (n > 3) after the use of PORT in survival analyses, whereas the benefits of OS and LCSS were not observed anymore for positive LNs (n ≤ 3) group. More importantly, multivariable analyses showed that the use of PORT is an independent risk factor of survival for positive LNs (n > 3) but not for positive LNs (n ≤ 3). CONCLUSIONS: In Stage IIIA (pN2) NSCLC, the use of PORT demonstrated better survival results than no PORT for patients with positive LNs (n > 3), but not for patients with positive LNs (n ≤ 3).