Lung cancer is the leading cause of

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwideand causes one-quarter of all cancer deaths.1 Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% of all lung cancer cases.2 Recently,with the development of molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy, the prognosis of advanced NSCLC has improved considerably.3,4 In contrast, only a limited breakthrough has been achievedin the management of early-stage NSCLC. Patients with early-stageNSCLC mainly undergo surgery with or without adjuvant therapy;however, approximately 30%–40% of stage I NSCLC patients ultimately die of postoperative local or metastatic recurrence.5 Lungadenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the major pathological subtype ofNSCLC. Unfortunately, similar to other subtypes of NSCLC, thereare no biomarkers that can predict recurrence and no specific treatment methods or drugs that can effectively prevent or inhibit therecurrence of stage I LUAD. Additionally, the mechanism of stage ILUAD recurrence remains largely unknown.