Methylation Status of miR-34a and miR-126 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Tumor Tissues.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for 85% of tumors of the lung and is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. MiR-34a and miR-126 mainly act as tumor suppressors and are often downregulated in various cancers, including NSCLC.

METHODS: The current study included 63 paraffin-embedded NSCLC and paired adjacent normal tissues. After DNA extraction and bisulfite treatment, the methylation status of miR-34a and miR-126 were evaluated using the MSP method.

RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between tumor and normal tissues regarding the methylation status of miR-34a and miR-126 (p > 0.05). Moreover, we found no significant correlation between the methylation status of miR-34a and miR-126 with patients' demographic parameters, including gender, age, and pathology subtype (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Considering the low expression of mir-126 and mir-34 in NSCLC, more sensitive methods are recommended to be exploited for detecting the level of methylation or underlying mechanisms other than promoter hypermethylation in silencing these genes in NSCLC.