Systemic immune-inflammation index as a useful prognostic indicator predicts survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

High Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index Predicts Poor Survival in Patients with Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2 Positive Breast Cancer Receiving Adjuvant Trastuzumab

Purpose

Neutrophils and platelets have been described as tumor-promoting factors, but lymphocytes have been described as tumor-inhibiting factors. The prognostic values of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been explored in human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2)-positive breast cancer, however, the value of the systemic immune- inflammation index (SII) has not been studied in this molecular subtype. Our study aimed to compare the prognostic values of these inflammation-based indexes in Chinese HER2-positive breast cancer patients who received adjuvant trastuzumab.

Methods

A total of 147 HER2-positive breast cancer patients were retrospectively analyzed. The association between clinicopathological factors and inflammation-based indexes was investigated. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS); the Log rank test was performed to comparatively evaluate the survivals between the high-value and low-value groups. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to identify independent prognostic factors.

Results

The SII value correlated significantly with histological grade (HG)(p=0.016). The cut-off values determined by ROC analysis for the NLR, PLR and SII were 1.69, 110 and 442, and the corresponding areas under the curves (AUCs) were 0.621, 0.639 and 0.674, respectively. The 5-year DFS was significantly lower in the NLR-high than in the NLR-low group (75.8% vs. 90.7%, p<0.01), in the PLR-high than in the PLR-low group (76.7% vs. 90.6%, p<0.01) and in the SII-high than in the SII-low group (66.8% vs. 90.7%, p<0.01). The 5-year OS was significantly lower in the PLR-high than in the PLR-low group (83.2% vs. 100%, p=0.035) and in the SII-high than in the SII-low group (77.3% vs. 96.4%, p=0.012). A multivariate regression model revealed that tumor size, lymph node involvement, HG, hormone receptor status, PLR and SII were independently correlated with DFS; lymph node involvement and SII were independently correlated with OS.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that SII is an independent prognostic factor for DFS and OS in HER2-positive breast cancer, and in terms of prognostic reliability, the SII is superior to other inflammation-based indexes.

The ratio of hemoglobin to red cell distribution width predicts survival in patients with gastric cancer treated by neoadjuvant FLOT: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Hemoglobin (HB) and red cell distribution width (RDW) are known to be prognostic in many cancer types. The HB-RDW ratio (HRR) is a new biomarker that has been shown to be predictive in some cancer types. However, the prognostic significance of HRR in patients with gastric cancer (GC) is unknown.

AIMS

In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the prognostic importance of HRR in GC patients treated with neoadjuvant fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel (FLOT).

METHODS

Eighty-five GC patients who were treated with neoadjuvant FLOT in our center were included in the study, retrospectively. Associations between clinical and histopathological parameters with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and compared by the log-rank test. The optimal cutoff values were determined by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and HRR were grouped based on a cutoff points 3.05, 802, and 0.89, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess their prognostic values for DFS and OS.

RESULTS

Low NLR, low SII, and high HRR were found to be associated with longer DFS/OS. In univariate analysis, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, grade, stage, response to neoadjuvant treatment, NLR, SII, and HRR were found to be significantly associated with DFS and OS. But in multivariate analysis, only HRR was demonstrated as an independent prognostic factor for DFS/OS (p 0.001, p 0.037, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

HRR is a new biomarker that can predict DFS and OS in GC patients treated with neoadjuvant FLOT.

Systemic immune-inflammation index as a prognostic marker in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a propensity score-matched study

Background

Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is significantly associated with poor survival in variety of cancers. However, SII has not yet been investigated in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (mNPC). Thus, our aim is to explore the role of SII in metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Methods

Two hundred and forty-three patients with newly diagnosed mNPC were retrospectively enrolled. The Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of SII in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Heterogeneity of factors was balanced by using propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis (1:1 for high SII versus low SII).

Results

Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with high SII were associated with poor median OS (18.0 vs. 36.0 m, P<0.001) and PFS (10.0 vs. 22.0 m, P<0.001) in mNPC. The Cox regression analysis suggested that high SII was a prognostic factor for OS (HR 1.75, 95% CI: 1.22–2.52, P=0.001) and PFS (HR 1.69, 95% CI: 1.22–2.35, P=0.002). PSM analysis still confirmed that SII was an independent marker for OS (HR 1.86, 95% CI: 1.22–2.83, P=0.004) and PFS (HR 1.84, 95% CI: 1.23–2.77, P=0.003).

Conclusions

SII is an independent prognostic biomarker for poor OS and PFS in patients with newly diagnosed mNPC and might be a promising tool for guiding treatment strategy decisions.

The combination of preoperative fibrinogen and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is a predictive prognostic factor in esophagogastric junction and upper gastric cancer

Objective: Cancer-associated systemic inflammation response and hyperfibrinogenemia play crucial roles in cancer progression and prognosis. In this study, we assessed the clinical value of the preoperative fibrinogen and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) and upper gastric cancer (UGC).

Methods: Patients with AEG or UGC who underwent curative surgery were divided into a training set (n=161) and a validation set (n=195). Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic indicators for overall survival (OS). The optimization cut-off values for fibrinogen and the NLR were 3.09g/L and 1.84, respectively. The combination of fibrinogen and NLR (F-NLR) was 2 for patients with high fibrinogen (≥3.09g/L) and elevated NLR (≥1.84), whereas those with one or neither were indexed as 1 or 0, respectively.

Results: F-NLR was identified as an independent prognostic indicator for OS in the training set (P=0.007) which was confirmed in the validation set (P=0.003). In the subgroup analyses, the prognostic significance of F-NLR was still maintained for stages I-II (P = 0.030 in the training set; and P =0.020 in the validation set) and III (P = 0.001 in the training set; and P <0.001 in the validation set).Notably, among patients with F-NLR 2 could benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy compared with those with F-NLR 0-1 (P = 0.020 in the training set; and P =0.005 in the validation set).

Conclusions: The preoperative F-NLR score is an independent prognosis indicator for patients with AEG and UGC. And it may help clinicians to identify those patients who at high prognostic risk and will benefit from planning individualized treatment strategies.

High Endogenous DNA Damage Levels Predict Hematological Toxicity in Testicular Germ Cell Tumor Patients Treated With First-Line Chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) are an excellent example of chemosensitive disease. However, cisplatin-based chemotherapy has significant side effects, including myelosuppression. Previously, we found endogenous DNA damage level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to be an independent prognostic marker. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that patients with high endogenous DNA damage levels in PBMCs have an increased risk of developing hematological toxicity.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

One hundred twenty chemotherapy-naive TGCT patients treated in the National Cancer Institute and the St Elisabeth Cancer Institute in Bratislava, Slovakia, from 2012 to 2018 were enrolled. All patients received platinum-based chemotherapy with granulocyte colony stimulating factor support. On the day of starting treatment, we measured the DNA damage levels in PBMCs using the comet assay. We used the cutoff level of 5.25, a value previously reported to stratify patients on the basis of their prognosis. We monitored hematological toxicity during the first cycle of chemotherapy. The mean and standard error of the mean were calculated for all variables.

RESULTS

Patients with high DNA damage levels (>5.25) had more significant hematological toxicity with significantly lower nadir white blood cell count (P = .001), absolute neutrophil count (P = .013) and absolute lymphocyte count (ALC; P < .001). ALCs on day 0 (P = .005) and day 22 (P = .046) were also significantly lower in patients with high DNA damage levels.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that higher endogenous DNA damage levels correlate with increased risk of hematological toxicity in TGCT patients. Hence, the DNA damage levels can be used to select patients for closer monitoring because of a higher risk of acute chemotherapy-related complications.

Prognostic significance of systemic immune-inflammation index in triple-negative breast cancer

Introduction: The prognostic significance of the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in breast cancer is unknown. Here, we aimed to explore the connection between pretreatment SII and the survival of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Methods: We enrolled 160 TNBC patients treated in our hospital between May 2000 and June 2012. We employed the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test to assess overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). We identified the prognostic significance of SII using the Cox regression model.

Results: The Kaplan-Meier curve revealed the median OS as 44.2 and 82.4 months in high and low SII TNBC patients, respectively (P<0.001). According to univariate and multivariate analyses, increased SII correlated with poor OS (HR =2.91, 95% CI: 2.00–4.23, P<0.001; HR =2.60, 95% CI: 1.74–3.88, P<0.001). The DFS and DMFS of patients with high SII were 18.8 and 23.8 months, respectively, while those of patients with low SII were 29 and 45.2 months, respectively, (P<0.001). Further univariate analyses showed a significant correlation between SII and DFS and DMFS (P<0.01), while results from multivariate analyses suggested that SII is an independent prognostic factor for DFS (P=0.045), but not for DMFS (P=0.078). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curves for SII to differentiate between long and short OS, DFS, and DMFS were 0.69, 0.60, and 0.64, respectively.

Conclusion: Our findings may point to SII having an independent prognostic significance in TNBC patients. Prospective in-depth studies, using a larger sample size, are required to further investigate the precise role of SII in TNBC before clinical use.

Clinical significance of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) in patients with esophageal cancer: a meta-analysis

Background: Numerous studies have reported that systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) correlate with tumor progression and prognosis in various types of human cancer. The aim of this study is to systematically investigate the clinical significance of SII and CAR in esophageal cancer (EC).

Methods: We searched a number of databases for articles reporting the effect of pretreatment SII and CAR on the survival of EC patients. Review Manager 5.3 and STATA/SE 14.1 were applied in this meta-analysis. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was used for calculating the relationship between SII and CAR and overall survival (OS), and the odds ratio (OR) was applied for the clinical pathology.

Results: Five original studies for SII and seven original datasets for CAR were included for analysis. Increased SII showed a significant association with shorter OS in EC patients after surgery (HR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.15–1.53, P<0.001) and high CAR indicated worse long-term OS in EC (HR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.29–1.90, P<0.001). Different subgroup analyses were also confirmed the prognostic roles in EC patients. Furthermore, the adverse impacts of elevated SII and CAR on tumor progression were revealed in the infiltration depth, lymph node metastasis, and clinical stage.

Conclusions: Both pretreatment SII and CAR might be promising predictors of cancer survival and tumor progression in EC. Further studies are warranted to verify the clinical usefulness in patients with EC.

High systemic immune-inflammation index represents an unfavorable prognosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) represents a fatal disease with high aggressiveness, and limited biomarkers have yet been identified for MPM. The present study aims to explore potential serum prognostic factors of MPM.

Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 97 pathologically diagnosed MPM was performed. The optimal cutoff value of pretreatment systemic immune–inflammation index (SII) was determined by receiver operating characteristic curve. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox regression analysis were performed to assess the potential prognostic roles of parameters.

Results: A total of 59.8% (n=58) patients are male, with a median age of 56.0 years (range 18–77). The optimal cutoff value of SII was 988.6×10⁹/L. High and low SII were found in 44 (45.4%) and 53 (54.6%) patients, respectively. Median survival time for total 97 cases was 18.5 months. The median overall survival for patients with low and high SII was 47.0 and 13.0 months, respectively. The 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates for patients with low SII were 85.8%, 57.8% and 52.0% compared to that of 53.9%, 23.6% and 13.8% in patients with high SII. On univariate analysis, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS)<2 points, low SII and adjuvant treatment (P<0.05) were found to be closely correlated with a better prognosis of MPM. Only ECOG PS (P=0.036) and SII (P=0.009) held statistical significance on multivariate analysis.

Conclusion: Pretreatment SII is easy to access to, and it represents an efficiency and noninvasive biomarker of MPM. High SII represents an unfavorable independent prognostic factor of MPM, and this needs to be validated in further studies.

Increased systemic immune-inflammation index independently predicts poor survival for hormone receptor-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer patients

Purpose: We sought to examine the role of pretreatment systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in hormone receptor-negative, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+ (HER2+) breast cancer patients.

Patients and methods: 155 HER2+ patients treated in our hospital from September 3, 2002, to September 21, 2012, were retrospectively enrolled. SII was established as neutrophil x platelet/lymphocyte counts. The median value of SII was used as cut-off value. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to evaluate the overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). To comparatively evaluate the survival rates between patients from two groups, we used the log-rank test. For identifying independent factors of prognosis, we used the Cox regression model, applying multivariate statistics.

Results: Analyses show that HER2+ patients with high and low SII had median DFS of 15.1 and 31.5 months, respectively (P<0.001), while the median DMFS in HER2+ patients with high SII was 18.4 and in patients with low SII was 33.0 months (P=0.001), and the median OS were 54.5 and 71.1 months respectively in high and low SII patients, respectively (P=0.002). Multivariate analysis had revealed increased SII independently linked to poor DFS (HR =1.46, 95% CI: 1.01–2.11, P=0.045). The difference between SII and DMFS bore no statistical significance. (HR =1.40, 95% CI: 0.96–2.03, P=0.078), while high SII independently predicted short OS (HR =1.51, 95% CI: 1.02–2.25, P=0.038).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that increased SII independently predicts poor survival for hormone receptor-negative, HER2+ breast cancer patients. Prospective studies are, however, required to confirm the role of SII in the prognosis of patients with HER2+ before clinical use.

Long-term impact of prognostic nutritional index in cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients undergoing definitive radiotherapy

Background

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has been found to have prognostic value in several cancers, and we aimed to determine its predictive value for the long-term prognosis of cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (CESCC) patients treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

Methods

The data for 106 CESCC patients who received radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy at the Cancer Hospital of Fujian Medical University from June 1, 2000 to December 31, 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. According to serum measurements taken before therapy, the PNI was calculated as albumin (g/L) + 5 × total lymphocyte count. The association between PNI and overall survival (OS) was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional regression model analysis.

Results

The median follow-up time was 19 months. The optimal cutoff value for PNI was calculated to be 48.15, and patients were divided into a low PNI group (<48.15) and high PNI group (≥48.15). Univariate analysis showed that a low survival rate was significantly associated with male gender (P=0.004), tumor length ≥5.0 cm (P=0.043), radiotherapy technique (P=0.016), synchronous chemotherapy (P=0.012), lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) (P=0.007), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P=0.007), lung cancer inflammation index (ALI) (P=0.008), cervical esophageal carcinoma inflammation index (CEI) (P=0.043), and PNI (P<0.001). The OS was higher in the high PNI group than in the low PNI group. On multivariate analysis, gender (P=0.004), radiotherapy technique (P=0.029), and PNI (P=0.007) were independent prognostic factors in CESCC treated with CRT.

Conclusions

The PNI value is a simple, reliable, and reproducible indicator for improving the accuracy of patient prognosis. And larger-scale studies are warranted to validate these findings.

Systemic immune-inflammation index predicts prognosis of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND

Systemic inflammation and immune dysfunction have been proved to be associated with cancer progression and metastasis in various malignancies. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of pre-treatment systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

In total, 419 patients diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer, between January 2011 and December 2015, were retrospectively enrolled. The SII was developed based on a training set of 197 patients from 2011 to 2013 and validated in an independent cohort of 222 patients from 2014 to 2015. Data on baseline clinicopathologic characteristics; pre-treatment laboratory variables such as absolute neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet counts; and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), total bilirubin (TBIL), albumin (ALB), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels were collected. The association between clinicopathologic characteristics and SII was assessed. The overall survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier survival curves and compared using the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze the prognostic value of the SII.

RESULT

An optimal cutoff point for the SII of 440 stratified the patients with advanced pancreatic cancer into high (> 440) and low (≤ 440) SII groups in the training cohort. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the SII was an independent predictor for overall survival. The prognostic significance of the SII was confirmed in both normal and elevated CA19-9 levels.

CONCLUSION

The baseline SII serves as an independent prognostic marker for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and can be used in patients with both normal and elevated CA19-9 levels.

Systemic immune-inflammation index and ultrasonographic classification of breast imaging-reporting and data system predict outcomes of triple-negative breast cancer

INTRODUCTION

This research was conducted to explore the relationship between the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and breast imaging-reporting and data system (BI-RADS) classification using ultrasonography and the survival of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in a cohort of Chinese.

METHODS

A total of 215 TNBC patients treated at our hospital between November 2008 and March 2016 were enrolled in this study. We used the log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier curves to assess the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) differences between groups. The prognostic role of SII and other clinicopathological characteristics in TNBC patients were identified using the Cox regression model.

RESULTS

Patients with low and high SII had median OS of 60.9 and 40.3 months, respectively, (HR=3.78, 95% CI: 2.16-4.15, P<0.001); while the median DFS was 22.4 months and 14.4 months for TNBC patients with low and high SII, respectively (HR =3.16, 95% CI: 1.82-4.02, P<0.001). For patients with grade 5 ultrasonographic BI-RADS classification, the median DFS and OS were 41.2 and 16.5 months, respectively, whereas, it was 57.7 and 21.3 months, respectively, for those with BI-RADS grades 3-4 (P<0.01). According to multivariable analyses, increased SII was a risk factor that independently predicted poor OS (HR =2.96, 95% CI: 2.18-3.98, P<0.001) and DFS (HR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.62-3.81, P=0.005). In addition, tumor stage, BI-RADS, and histological grade also independently predicted poor OS (P=0.002, <0.001, 0.004).

CONCLUSION

Pretreatment SII and BI-RADS 5 were independent indicators for prognosis in TNBC patients. It is imperative to conduct prospective studies to evaluate the potential role of SII in patient selection, treatment guidance, and design of clinical trials.

Preoperative Anemia or Low Hemoglobin Predicts Poor Prognosis in Gastric Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Background

The prognostic value of preoperative anemia in gastric cancer remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative anemia in gastric cancer.

Methods

We searched Embase and PubMed databases for relevant studies from inception to March 2018. The prognostic value of preoperative anemia in gastric cancer was determined by calculating the hazard ratio (HR) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) as effect measures. A random effect model was used in cases in which there was significant heterogeneity; otherwise, a fixed effect model was used. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata software.

Results

Seventeen studies involving 13,154 gastric cancer patients were included. The estimated rate of preoperative anemia was 36% (95%CI = 27-44%). The overall survival of preoperative anemia was poor (HR = 1.33, 95%CI = 1.21-1.45). Moreover, disease-free survival was significantly lower in patients with preoperative anemia compared with those without this condition (HR = 1.62, 95%CI = 1.13-2.32). These findings were corroborated by the results of subgroup analyses.

Conclusions

The results indicate that preoperative anemia predicts poor prognosis in gastric cancer, including overall survival and disease-free survival. Therefore, preoperative anemia may be a convenient and cost-effective blood-derived prognostic marker for gastric cancer.

Prognostic value of pretreatment systemic immune-inflammation index in patients with gastrointestinal cancers

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies have reported the relationship between systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and prognosis in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, but no consensus has been reached. We aimed to systematically evaluate the prognostic value of SII in patients with GI cancers.

METHODS

Relevant published papers regarding the prognostic value of SII in patients with GI cancers were obtained from a number of electronic databases. The overall hazard ratios and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using a fixed or random effects model to assess the relationship between SII and prognosis through Stata SE 12.0.

RESULTS

A total of 24 eligible published articles with 9,626 patients were included. From the pooled results, we found that high SII indicated worse overall survival (OS) in patients with GI cancers (HR = 1.52, 95%CI: 1.29-1.74). And patients with high SII had poorer disease-free survival (HR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.46-3.10), time to recurrence (HR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.11-2.30), and recurrence-free survival (HR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.19-2.00) when compared with those with low SII values.

CONCLUSIONS

SII might serve as a noninvasive and powerful tool for predicting survival outcome in patients with GI cancers.

Establishment and characterization of a GES-1 human gastric epithelial cell line stably expressing miR-23a

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are highly conserved, endogenous, small and single-stranded RNA molecules that promote the degradation and translational inhibition of specific target mRNAs in order to regulate cell proliferation and differentiation, and organism growth and development. MiR-23a has been demonstrated to function as an oncogene in certain types of tumor. The aim of the present study was to provide a tool for elucidating the mechanisms of action of miR-23a in gastric cancer, and identify the function of miR-23a in a human gastric epithelium cell line, by establishing a human gastric epithelial GES-1 cell line that stably expressed miR-23a. A plasmid was constructed for the expression of miR-23a by inserting the miR-23a primary sequence into a pcDNA3 vector (pcDNA3/pri-23a). PcDNA3/pri-23a or the empty pcDNA3 vector (EV), which was then transfected into human gastric epithelium GES-1 cells using Lipofectamine to produce GES-1/miR-23a cells and GES-1/EV cells, respectively. G418 (Geneticin) was used to select and expand the G418-resistant colonies, and miR-23a expression was assessed by reverse transcription-semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The proliferation of the cells was assessed using cell counting and MTT assays. The invasive ability of the cells was evaluated using a Transwell assay. The colony-forming ability of the cells was assessed using a colony formation assay. A human gastric epithelium GES-1/miR-23a cell line with the stable expression of miR-23a was successfully established. Compared with the control GES-1 and GES-1/EV cells, the mRNA expression of the miR-23a gene in GES-1/miR-23a cells was significantly increased (P<0.05). The proliferation rate, invasive ability and colony-forming ability of the GES-1/miR-23a cells were significantly higher compared with those of the control GES-1/EV cells and the parental GES-1 cells (P<0.05). Additionally, the results of the present study demonstrated that miR-23a enhanced the cell proliferation rate, invasive ability and cell colony forming ability of GES-1 cells. This data provides a solid experimental foundation for further studies on the function of miRNAs in the development and progression of gastric cancer.