Overall, based on these results, we concluded that miR-18a-5p could drive cancer by directly targeting IRF2 (Figure 7), and might also have a close correlation between the p53 and NF-κB signalling pathway (Supplementary Figure S3).39, 40, 41 Our findings provided a potential understanding of the mechanism how miRNAs affect the oncogenesis of lung cancer, which could be employed as drug targets for diagnostics and therapeutic treatments in the future. This evidence concerns the gene IRF2 and lung cancer.