Previous studies have showed that miRNA-7 down-regulates the expression of EGFR and key modulators of the Akt pathway including IRS-1 and IRS-2 in glioblastoma, breast, cervical and lung cancer, which led to decreased cell survival and proliferation (Kefas et al., 2008; Webster et al., 2009; Kalinowski et al., 2014). Here, IRS1 is linked to lung cancer.