Pyruvate kinase M2 is a marker of poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma but not lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

BackgroundTo explore the pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) expression profile as a prognostic marker of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) as well as lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC).MethodsRetrospective bioinformatics analysis of data from the Cancer Genome Atlas-Lung Cancer dataset and the Human Protein Atlas was performed. PKM2 mRNA expression was monitored using the Kaplan-Meier Plotter online database. GraphPad Prism 6.0 and the SPSS 19.0 software package were used for statistical analysis.ResultsPKM2 expression was found to be significantly higher in both LUAD and LUSC than in normal controls. Although increased PKM2 expression in LUAD was correlated with poor overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR): 2.128; 95% CI: 1.754–3.653; P<0.001], recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR: 1.524; 95% CI: 1.069–2.499; P=0.0237), and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR: 2.18; 95% CI: 1.58–3; P<0.001), no such associations were found in LUSC.ConclusionsPKM2 is a potential prognostic biomarker for LUAD but not for LUSC.