DNA hypermethylation of microRNA-34b/c has prognostic value for stage Ⅰ non-small cell lung cancer

• Published in: Cancer biology & therapy Vol. 11; no. 5; pp. 490 - 496
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhen, Chen, Zhaoli, Gao, Yushun, Li, Ning, Li, Baozhong, Tan, Fengwei, Tan, Xiaogang, Lu, Ning, Sun, Yuntian, Sun, Jian, Sun, Nan, He, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.03.2011
• Subjects: Binding; Biology; Bioscience; Calcium; Cancer; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - therapy; Cell; Cycle; Disease-Free Survival; DNA Methylation; Female; Gene Expression; Humans; Landes; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Lung Neoplasms - therapy; Male; MicroRNAs - genetics; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Organogenesis; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prognosis; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Proteins; Retrospective Studies
• ISSN: 1538-4047; 1555-8576
• DOI: 10.4161/cbt.11.5.14550

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world and approximately 30-40% of patients with stage Ⅰ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) die of recurrent disease. miRNA expression profiles can be diagnostic and prognostic markers of lung cancer. Recently, miR-34 family has been shown to be part of the p53 pathway which is frequently involved in lung cancer, and the expression of miR-34 has been reported to be regulated by DNA methylation. In present study, we investigated the correlation between DNA methylation status of miR-34 family and recurrence of stage Ⅰ NSCLC patients. miR-34a and miR-34b/c promoter methylation status were determined by nested methylation-specific PCR in FFPE tumor tissues from 161 patients of stage Ⅰ NSCLC. Furthermore, mature miR-34b and miR-34c expression were analyzed by qRT-PCR in the same panel tissues. Our results revealed that aberrant DNA methylation of miR-34b/c was correlated with a high probability of recurrence (p=0.026) and associated with poor overall survival (p=0.010) and disease-free survival (p=0.017). No significant association was found for miR-34a methylation. Multivariate analysis showed that promoter hypermethylation of miR-34b/c was an independent prognostic factor of stage Ⅰ NSCLC. Moreover, no significant association between mature miR-34b and miR-34c expression and DNA methylation status was found. In conclusion, we have identified promoter hypermethylation of miR-34b/c as a relatively common event in NSCLC and might be a potential prognostic factor for stage Ⅰ NSCLC.