Cholangiocarcinoma is the most common biliary duct
malignancy and the second most common primary
liver cancer, accounting for 10‑20% of hepatic
malignancies. With high mortality and poor prognosis, the 5‑year survival rate of
cholangiocarcinoma is only 10%. A previous study demonstrated a significant association between
aspirin use and a decreased risk of
cholangiocarcinoma. However, the effect of
aspirin on
cholangiocarcinoma remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of
aspirin on
cholangiocarcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Three
cholangiocarcinoma cell lines were used to analyze the effect of
aspirin on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and the regulation of
microRNAs.
MicroRNAs are known to regulate the development and progression of various types of
cancer. An HuCCT‑1 xenograft model was used for the in vivo study. It was determined that
aspirin inhibited the proliferation of human
cholangiocarcinoma cells (except TKKK cells).
Aspirin induced cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase and regulated cell‑cycle related
proteins in
cholangiocarcinoma cells (HuCCT‑1 cells) but did not induce apoptosis. The expression of miR‑340‑5p was significantly upregulated
after treatment, and overexpression of miR‑340‑5p inhibited the proliferation of HuCCT‑1 cells and decreased the levels of
cyclin D1. TKKK cells had low miR‑340‑5p expression, which may explain why
aspirin had no effect on their proliferation. In vivo,
aspirin reduced the growth of xenografted
tumors. In conclusion, the present study indicated that
aspirin partially inhibited
cholangiocarcinoma cell proliferation and
tumor growth by inducing G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest, potentially through the miR‑340‑5p/
cyclin D1 axis.