Abstract
Lung tumors represent a major health problem. In early stage NSCLC tumors, surgical resection is the preferred treatment, but 30-55% of patients will relapse within 5 years after surgery. Thus, the identification of prognostic biomarkers in early stage NSCLC patients, especially those which are therapeutically addressable, is crucial to enhance survival of these patients. We determined the immunohistochemistry expression of key proteins involved in tumorigenesis and oncogenic signaling, p53, EGFR, pAKT and pERK, and correlated their expression level to clinicopathological characteristics and patient outcome. We found EGFR expression is higher in the squamous cell carcinomas than in adenocarcinomas (p=0.043), and that nuclear p53 staining correlated with lower differentiated squamous tumors (p=0.034). Regarding the prognostic potential of the expression of these proteins, high pERK levels proved to be an independent prognostic factor for overall (p<0.001) and progression-free survival (p<0.001) in adenocarcinoma patients, but not in those from the squamous histology, and high p53 nuclear levels were identified as independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival (p=0.031) only in squamous cell carcinoma patients. We propose a role as early prognostic biomarkers for pERK protein levels in adenocarcinoma, and for nuclear p53 levels in squamous cell lung carcinoma. The determination of these potential biomarkers in the adequate histologic context may predict the outcome of early stage NSCLC patients, and may offer a therapeutic opportunity to enhance survival of these patients.
Highlights
Lung tumors represent a major health problem, accounting for most cancer-related deaths and with a 5-year survival rate of only 18% after diagnosis [1]
Considering the histology, 49.6% and 31.0% cases belonged to the most prevalent lung cancer subtypes, squamous cell lung carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, respectively; 8.9% cases were diagnosed as large cell carcinomas; and 10.4% were identified as other histologic subtypes
We report a prognostic role for pERK levels in lung adenocarcinoma, and we demonstrate that nuclear p53 expression is a potential prognostic biomarker in lung squamous cell carcinoma patients, where it is associated with poorer tumor differentiation
Summary
Lung tumors represent a major health problem, accounting for most cancer-related deaths and with a 5-year survival rate of only 18% after diagnosis [1]. Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease and is classified into two major groups: small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [2]. NSCLC is the most common histology of lung cancer, representing 85% of lung cancer cases and is sub-classified as adenocarcinoma, squamous cell lung cancer and large cell carcinoma. Surgical resection plays a major role in the therapy of early-stage NSCLC tumors. The identification of prognostic biomarkers in early-stage NSCLC patients, especially those which are therapeutically addressable, is crucial to enhance survival of these patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
