Breaking Advances Highlights from Recent Cancer Literature Paxillin, microRNA-218, and Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in industrial countries. Critical determinants of lung cancer progression that affect patient prognosis include tumor cell migration and metastasis. The focal adhesion protein paxillin (PXN) is associated with signal transduction pathways that regulate cell motility and migration. PXN mutations are associated with lung adenocarcinoma progression, and PXN has been identified as a target gene of microRNA-218 (miR-218). Based on this association, Wu and colleagues explored the hypothesis that PXN overexpression induced by miR-218 suppression might be an important promoterof lungcancerprogressionandmetastasis.Usingrealtime PCR and immunohistochemical analyses, they found that expression levels ofmiR-218 and PXN in 124 surgically resected lung tumors revealed a negative association between miR-218 and PXN expression. Furthermore, patients with low miR-218 expression and high PXN positivity displayed the worst overall and relapse-free survival in the cohort of patients that were evaluated. The clinical sample evaluation outcome was supportedby results fromcellmodel systems showing that PXN was negatively regulated bymiR-218 and that cell proliferation, invasion, and soft agar colony formationwere enhancedbyPXN overexpressioninducedbymiR-218suppression.Thesefindings indicate diagnostic applications for PXN overexpression in non–small cell lung cancer.With further validation studies and additional experimentation, PXN may provide a viable therapeutic target to improve clinical outcomes in this disease. (Image from cited article courtesy of publisher.)