Abstract
Choline kinase α (CHKA), the enzyme that converts choline to phosphocholine, has been studied in human carcinogenesis widely. However, the expression and underlying clinicopathological characteristics of CHKA in lung adenocarcinoma remains elusive. In the present study, a tissue microarray of 119 pairs of lung adenocarcinoma samples and corresponding adjacent normal mucosae was used to analysis CHKA expression by immunohistochemistry, and CHKA was observed to exhibit enhanced expression in lung adenocarcinoma tissues. Elevated CHKA expression in lung adenocarcinoma tissues at the gene and protein level was observed. The levels of CHKA expression were closely associated with the poor prognosis status of lung adenocarcinoma patients. Furthermore, certain clinicopathological characteristics such as tumor diameter and differentiation were observed to be significant in those lung adenocarcinoma patients who displayed enhanced CHKA expression. The analysis of CHKA expression could provide a more precise way to predict the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients. Collectively, the present study revealed a novel biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma, and indicated that CHKA may be a promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target for lung adenocarcinoma.