Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the expressions of osteopontin (OPN), (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and investigate their potential pathogenic roles in the development of NSCLC. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expressions of OPN, (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 in cohort (136 cases) of NSCLC samples and their adjacent normal lung tissue specimens. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships among expressions of OPN, (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 and their associations with patients clinico- pathological parameters. RESULTS: The expressions of OPN and Pim-1 were predominantly observed in cytoplasm. The expression of (α) (ν) (β) (3) was mostly detected in cytoplasm and/or membrane. In NSCLC samples, the positive rates of OPN, (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 expressions were 68.4% (93/136), 77.2% (105/136) and 57.4% (78/136), respectively. In normal lung tissues, in contrast, the positive rates of OPN, (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 were 24.0% (12/50), 26.0% (13/50) and 16.0% (8/50), respectively. There were significant differences of the positive expression rates of OPN, (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 between NSCLCs samples and normal lung tissues (P<0.01). In addition, the positive expression of OPN, (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 in NSCLCs samples was significantly associated with increased pathological grade, lymph node metastasis and advanced clinical stage (P<0.01), and they were independent of other clinicopathological parameters (P>0.05). Furthermore, a significantly positive correlation between the expression of OPN and (α) (ν) (β) (3) (r=0.38, P<0.01), OPN and Pim-1 (r=0.37, P<0.01), or (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 (r=0.20, P<0.05) was evaluated in our NSCLC cohort. CONCLUSION: OPN, (α) (ν) (β) (3) and Pim-1 proteins are frequently overexpressed in NSCLC, and they may play important roles in the development and/or progression of NSCLC.