Expression of zinc finger protein 217 in non-small cell lung cancer and its clinical significance

Abstract

Objective To explore the expression of zinc finger protein 217 (ZNF217) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its correlation with prognosis of patients. Methods A total of 120 NSCLC patients in Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital from January 2012 to October 2013 were selected. Immunohistochemical method was used to test the expression of ZNF217 in NSCLC tissues and paracancerous tissues. The correlation of ZNF217 expression with patient's clinicopathological features was analyzed. At the same time, the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model multiple factor analysis method were used to explore the factors affecting the prognosis of patients after NSCLC radical operations. Results ZNF217 mainly existed in cell nucleus of NSCLC. The positive expression rate of ZNF217 in the cancer tissues was higher than that in the paracancerous tissues [52.5% (63/120) vs. 20.1% (25/120), χ2= 25.909, P < 0.05]. The positive expression rate of ZNF217 increased with the increase of tumor T stage (χ 2= 7.333, P= 0.026), N stage (χ 2= 7.782, P= 0.020) and TNM stage (χ 2= 11.557, P= 0.003). The overall survival (P= 0.007) and progression-free survival (P= 0.004) of patients with positive ZNF217 were poorer than those of patients with negative ZNF217. Cox multiple factor analysis showed that ZNF217 was an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of NSCLC. Conclusion ZNF217 is an independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of NSCLC, and it may be a potential target for accurate treatment of NSCLC. Key words: Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung; Zinc finger protein 217; Prognosis