Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It has been proven that the expression of ZO-1 (zonula occluden-1) was correlated with the growth and metastasis of cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between ZO-1 gene expression and clinicopathologic parameters and the survival rates in the patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: The expression levels of ZO-1 gene in 101 patients with NSCLC and lung tissues of 61 patients with benign lung disease were detected by real-time PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemical techniques. RESULTS: There was a significant statistic difference of ZO-1 mRNA expression levels between carcinoma group and control group (P < 0.01). In carcinoma group, adjacent group and control group, ZO-1 protein expression levels were with significantly statistic difference between each other (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). There was a significantly statistic difference between ZO-1 mRNA expression levels in survival during 2 years follow-up group and death during 2 years follow-up group (t=-5.61, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: ZO-1 is a valuable predictive marker for NSCLC patients.