Search

Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. The prognosis of patients with advanced NSCLC is poor due to metastasis. In recent years, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of non-coding RNA molecules, in NSCLC has become an increasingly popular focus of studies. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ZNF674-AS1 and microRNA (miR)-23a on the migration and invasion abilities of NSCLC cells in vitro and explore the underpinning molecular mechanisms. Methods The expression levels of ZNF674-AS1 and miR-23a in NSCLC tissues and cells were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Scratch test and transwell test were used to detect the effects of ZNF674-AS1 and miR-23a on the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. The luciferase reporter gene experiment was used to verify miRNA targets. Western blot experiments were used to analyze protein expression. Results ZNF674-AS1 was downregulated in NSCLC tissues and cells, and inhibited the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells in vitro. In contrast, the expression of miR-23a, a downstream target of ZNF674-AS1, was increased in NSCLC tissues and cells. We found that miR-23a could antagonize the role of ZNF674-AS1 in NSCLC. E-cadherin was identified as a downstream target gene of miR-23a, and miR-23a could directly inhibit its expression. Conclusions ZNF674-AS1 inhibits the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells by regulating a miR-23a/E-cadherin axis. ZNF674-AS1 and miR-23a could become potential therapeutic targets for NSCLC.

Apatinib is a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting VEGFR-2, which was recently used in a phase II clinical trial for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rmNPC). However, there is no consistent conclusion on its efficacy and safety on rmNPC. This study conducted a meta-analysis of clinical research on the efficacy and safety of apatinib in the treatment of rmNPC.In April 2022, the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), CMB, and Wanfang databases were systematically searched, and relevant research literature were screened and analyzed. The clinical trial literatures using apatinib as the main single or combined treatment for rmNPC patients were selected and combined with objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and other efficacy and safety indicators.The meta-analysis included 12 studies, including 408 patients with rmNPC. The methodological index for nonrandomized studies scale was used to evaluate the bias of the included literatures and found that the bias was low. A total of 408 rmNPC patients were included in the included literature, with 11 studies being a phase II single-arm trial and one being a phase II non-randomized controlled trial. The ORR of patients with rmNPC treated with apatinib was 41.5% (95% CI: 34.8%, 48.2%), and the DCR was 80.2% (95% CI: 70.9%, 89.6%). The median PFS was 6.4 months (95% CI: 5.3, 7.4), and the median OS was 14.8 months (95% CI: 10.7, 18.9). The incidence of hypertension, hand-foot skin reaction, and proteinuria was 31% (95% CI: 19-43%), 29% (95% CI: 20-39%), and 13% (95% CI: 6-20%), respectively.The efficacy of apatinib in the treatment of rmNPC patients is similar to that of the previous second-line chemotherapy drugs, but since most studies are phase II single-arm studies, the advantages and disadvantages of the existing second-line chemotherapy regimens cannot be determined.