title: mTOR and PTEN expression in non-small cell lung cancer: analysis by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To detect the expression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and PTEN in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and explore their role in the prognosis of patients with NSCLC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Samples of cancer tissues and normal lung tissues from 78 patients with NSCLC were examined for expression of mTOR and PTEN by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. The differences in mTOR and PTEN expression were compared by Student's t test. A Cox regression model was used to analyze the relationship between the influencing factors and the prognosis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the log-rank test were used to analyze the progression-free survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mTOR expression in NSCLC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal lung tissue, while the levels of PTEN expression in NSCLC tissue were significantly lower than that in normal lung tissues (P < 0.05). No significant correlations were observed between the mTOR and PTEN expressions and the patients' age, sex, pathological type, differentiation, lymph node metastasis, or distant metastasis. The only correlation was with the T stage. The Cox regression analysis showed that mTOR and PTEN expression had an important impact on the patient prognosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The absence of and/or a low expression of PTEN and activated mTOR may play an important role in the development of NSCLC, and may represent new prognostic biomarkers for a poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC.
authors: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Chest Hospital, Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, 101149, People's Republic of China.
authors: Liang
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: Wentao
authors: W
authors: Yue
authors: Lina
authors: L
authors: Zhang
authors: Xiaoting
authors: X
authors: Zhao
authors: Yue
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Shaofa
authors: S
authors: Xu
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; C494929:PTEN protein, human