Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations are increasingly discovered and expected to be potential biomarkers to monitor severity, duration, stage, response to therapy, and prognosis in patients with lung cancer. The present article illustrates alterations of mtDNA in lung cancer, including alterations of mtDNA copy number and sequence mutations, as well as their possible mechanisms for carcinogenesis and development of lung cancer. The clear and comprehensive relationships between mtDNA variations and lung cancer are to be further confirmed to benefit effective strategies for lung cancer diagnosis and therapy.
Keywords: DNA; Diagnosis; Lung cancer; Mitochondria; Mutation.