Identification of miRNAs and differentially expressed genes in early phase non-small cell lung cancer.

To explore the potential therapeutic targets of early‑stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), gene microarray analysis was conducted. The microarray data of NSCLC in stage IA, IB, IIA, and IIB (GSE50081), were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in IB vs. IA, IIA vs. IB, IIB vs. IIA were screened out via R. ToppGene Suite was used to get the enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways of the DEGs. The GeneCoDis3 database and Cytoscape software were used to construct the transcriptional regulatory network. In total, 25, 17 and 14 DEGs were identified in IB vs. IA, IIA vs. IB, IIB vs. IIA of NSCLC, respectively. Some GO terms and pathways (e.g., extracellular space, alveolar lamellar body, bioactivation via cytochrome P450 pathway) were found significantly enriched in DEGs. Genes S100P, ALOX15B, CCL11, NLRP2, SERPINA3, FoxO4 and hsa-miR-491 may play important roles in the development of early-stage NSCLC. Thus, by bioinformatics analysis the key genes and biological processes involving in the development of early-stage NSCLC could be established, providing more potential references for the therapeutic targets.