Upregulation of microRNA-1303 is a potential prognostic marker of non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the major subtype of lung cancer, imposing a huge disease burden worldwide. MicroRNA-1303 (miR-1303) has been demonstrated to be involved in several diseases, including cancers. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of miR-1303 in NSCLC. METHODS: We quantified the expression levels of miR-1303 in NSCLC tissues and cells using the qRT-PCR assay. Then the association between miR-1303 expression and clinical characteristics of patients was analyzed using the chi 2 test. The Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression assays were used to investigate the prognostic value of miR-1303 in NSCLC. Furthermore, the functional proliferation, migration, and invasion assays were used to explore the miR-1303 functions in vitro. RESULTS: The expression of miR-1303 was upregulated in NSCLC tissue samples and cells. The upregulation of miR-1303 was associated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. The survival time of NSCLC patients with high expression of miR-1303 was shorter than those with low expression. The functional analyses revealed that overexpression of miR-1303 in H1299 and A549 cells promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that miR-1303 may be a potential prognostic biomarker for NSCLC and be involved in the progression of NSCLC.