title: The elevated level of ERα36 is correlated with nodal metastasis and poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  ERα36 is a recently cloned variant of estrogen receptor-alpha which has been proved to play an active role in a series of malignant diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  ERα36 expression was examined using immunohistochemical methods with sections from 126 resected NSCLC specimens. The immunoreactivity of ERα66 was also studied as a comparison. Kaplan-Meier method and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between ERα36 and survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ERα36 was more highly expressed in NSCLC patients compared to ERα66. ERα36 expression has a strong correlation with histology (AC: 53/70, SCC: 16/56, P<0.000) and had a significantly positive correlation with lymphatic metastasis (P=0.014) in adenocarcinoma. High ERα36 expression was correlated with poorer overall survival (OS) (P=0.020) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P=0.024) in adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, ERα36 status was a significant independent prognostic factor of OS (P=0.018, HR: 3.142, 95% CI: 1.215-8.128) and DFS (P=0.024, HR: 2.720, 95% CI: 1.141-6.486) in lung adenocarcinoma patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ERα36 had a high expression mainly in adenocarcinoma and the high expression of ERα36 was strongly correlated with more advanced regional lymph node metastasis and poor survival in lung adenocarcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oncology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan 250021, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oncology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan 250021, PR China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan 250021, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oncology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan 250021, PR China. Electronic address: liuqi66@sdu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan 250021, PR China. Electronic address: dujiajun@sdu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiajun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Du
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000077192:Adenocarcinoma of Lung; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha
keywords: Estrogen receptor alpha36; Estrogen receptor alpha66; Non-small cell lung cancer; Prognosis