Expression and Clinical Relevance of Serum LncRNA NEAT1 and microRNA-31 in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer and Pulmonary Infection.

ABSTRACT

Background: Lung cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with a substantial proportion of patients suffering from concurrent pulmonary infections. Despite advances in treatment modalities, the early diagnosis of lung cancer complicated by pulmonary infection remains challenging, often resulting in delayed intervention and poorer prognosis. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the expression and significance of serum long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) NEAT1 and microRNA-31 in patients with advanced lung cancer complicated by pulmonary infection. Methods: A total of 48 patients diagnosed with lung cancer complicated by pulmonary infection and admitted to the hospital between January 2021 and December 2021 constituted the experimental group, while 48 healthy volunteers recruited during the same period served as the healthy control group. The expression levels of NEAT1 and microRNA-31 in plasma samples obtained from peripheral blood were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and their differential expression in plasma was compared between the two groups. Results: Significantly elevated levels of serum lncRNA NEAT1 and microRNA-31 were observed in the experimental group compared to the healthy control group. Furthermore, the expression levels of NEAT1 and microRNA-31 showed correlations with patient age and tumor size. Notably, the expression of NEAT1 exhibited no significant association with smoking status, whereas microRNA-31 expression displayed a significant relationship with smoking. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that lncRNA NEAT1 and microRNA-31 are markedly upregulated in the plasma of patients with advanced lung cancer complicated by pulmonary infection. These molecules hold promise as potential diagnostic markers for advanced lung cancer complicated by pulmonary infection and may provide early auxiliary diagnostic value for lung cancer.