High levels of Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog Expression Predict Favorable Prognosis in Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.
The prognostic role of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been controversial. In this study, levels of PTEN expression were investigated in NSCLC patients and their prognostic value in NSCLC was assessed. PTEN expression in tumor tissues from 68 NSCLC patients was analyzed using immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy. Survival analysis was performed using the log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. NSCLC patients classified as expressers of high levels of PTEN (n = 46) had better prognoses than those classified as expressers of low levels (mean survival 17.1 vs. 12.9 months, log rank P = 0.038). In patients with adenocarcinoma (AC), high PTEN expression (n = 9) was associated with significantly longer survival than low PTEN expression (mean survival 23.50 vs. 15.54 months, log rank P = 0.043). High levels of PTEN expression resulted in 43 % reduction in risk for all NSCLC patients (HR 0.57, 95 % CI 0.33-0.98, P = 0.041). PTEN expression and clinical stage remained significantly associated with survival after adjustment for age, sex, and tumor type (HR 0.56, 95 % CI 0.32-0.99; P = 0.048; HR 0.54, 95 % CI 0.36-0.97; P = 0.045). No significant difference in continuous PTEN expression levels was observed among groups with different clinical or pathological characteristics (P > 0.17). When levels of PTEN expression were binarized using the optimal cut-point, higher levels of PTEN expression were observed in patients with T1/T2 than in those with T3/T4 (80 and 58 %, respectively, P = 0.049) and in patients with AC than in those with squamous-cell carcinoma (78 and 58 %, respectively, P = 0.08). No significant difference in binarized PTEN expression levels was found among groups with any other clinical/pathologic characteristic (P > 0.28). Our results suggest that high levels of PTEN expression may be favorable prognostic markers in NSCLC patients.
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Xuebing
X
Li
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Yuan
Y
Yang
Department of Pathology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, China.
Haiqing
H
Zhang
Department of Cellular Biology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, China.
Wentao
W
Yue
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Tongmei
T
Zhang
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Baohua
B
Lu
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Jie
J
Li
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Zan
Z
Liu
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Qunhui
Q
Wang
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Yuan
Y
Gao
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Aimin
A
Hu
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Hongmei
H
Zhang
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Heling
H
Shi
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China.
Fanbin
F
Hu
Department of Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 97 Ma Chang, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, China. drbaolan@sina.com.
Baolan
B
Li
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase
Adenocarcinoma; Non-small cell lung cancer; Phosphatase and tensin homolog; Prognosis; Squamous-cell carcinoma