Association of Serum miR-145 with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 85% of all lung cancers and it is the leading cause of cancer death globally. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in cancer progression, including lung cancer. Therefore, it would be interesting to determine key modulators that can suppress VEGF production. This study aimed to identify miRNAs regulating VEGF using systematic reviews and bioinformatics tools. We further validated miRNA expression and VEGF level using qRT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. A total 17 studies were selected using systematic review. 97 miRNAs were found to be up-regulated in serum of NSCLC compared to controls. miR-145 was selected to further validate in clinical samples. Serum miR-145 expression in NSCLC (10.77±3.40) was lower than patient with other lung diseases (25.10±7.90) with p-value of 0.019. The VEGF level in serum of NSCLC was significantly higher than other lung diseases and healthy persons with p-value of 0.003 and 0.002, respectively. However, a weak negative correlation of miR-145 and VEGF in serum of NSCLC was observed without significant difference. In conclusion, the expression of miR-145 and VEGF in NSCLC patients may be involved with lung tumorigenesis; however, the VEGF is not regulated by miR-145 in lung cancer.