Obstructive sleep apnea promotes the progression of lung cancer by modulating cancer cell invasion and cancer-associated fibroblast activation via TGFβ signaling.

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with severity of pneumonia; however, the mechanism by which OSA promotes lung cancer progression is unclear.

Methods: Twenty-five lung cancer patients were recruited to investigate the relationship between OSA and cancer-associated fibroblast (CAFs) activation. Lung cancer cells (A549) and WI38 fibroblast cells were used to explore the hypoxia-induced TGFβ expression using qPCR, Western blot, and ELISA.

Intermittent hypoxia inhibits anti-tumor immune response via regulating PD-L1 expression in lung cancer cells and tumor-associated macrophages.

Accumulating evidence has shown an increased tumor incidence and reduced survival rate in cancer patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Although intermittent hypoxia is known to play a crucial role, the molecular mechanism by which intermittent hypoxia accelerates lung cancer progression remains to be elucidated.A lung cancer xenograft mouse model was established by subcutaneously injecting LLC cells into C57BL/6 mice.