Identification of potential microRNAs and their targets in promoting gefitinib resistance by integrative network analysis

Lung cancer is one of the most frequent and fatal neoplasms. It is also the leading cause of cancer mortality in all parts of the world (1), with around 80–85% of lung cancers being non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite being the most prevalent type of lung cancer, NSCLC remains a global challenge because of its high morbidity and mortality (2). Recently, molecular targeted therapy has dramatically arrived as a milestone clinical improvement for patients with precise genomic variations, especially for those patients with NSCLC-harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-sensitive mutations (3,4). EGFR-TKIs have been developed to resist epithelial-derived solid tumors for advanced NSCLC