Keratin 16 MRNA Expression In The Primary Bronchial Cancer Specimens

Objective and BackgroundPrimary bronchial cancer (lung cancer) is one of the most frequent malignant disease . The epidemic of lung cancer is associated with an overall low 5-year cure rate of 13%, little changed in the past 30 years. In 2000, the projected deaths from lung cancer in the USA are 161,900. In recent years the deaths from lung cancer are increasing in Shanghai, Peking, and a majority of coastland .The incidences of lung cancer continues to climb , and the age of lung cancer becomes more and more young. The problem are threatening people .Now, early detection of lung cancer is the key , and more and more attentions are paid to tumor markers, especially keratins. Now, it is certain that CYFRA 21 -1( cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1) is one of the tumor markers, and it plays important role in the diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring disease progress and detecting relapse of lung cancer. However, CYFRA 21-1 also expresses in the normal epithelia,and it can't avoid false positive rate.Keratin 16 are found expressing in stratified epithelia showing hyperproliferation and aberrant differentiation such as in psoriasis and some cancer. Professor Ding Jiayi has found K16 expresses higherly in the lung cancer tissue than in the normal lung tissue, which suggest K16 probably is the new tumor marker.The aim of the present study was to examine the expression differentiation of keratin 16 in the lung cancer specimens and lung benign lesions by the biopsy under fibrobronchoscopy, and validate the probability of K.16 as a new tumor marker.Objects and MethodsBetween November 2003 and February 2004 36 specimens ere collected by the mean of fibrobronchoscopy biopsy in the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital. The number of lung cancer was 26, include 17 specimen of squamous cancer . 7 adenocarcinoma, and 2 small cell lung cancer. The number of benign lung lesions was 10, include 7specimens of tuberculosis and 3 inflammation lesions, we examined the Kl 6 mRNA level by the mean of FQ-PCR(fluorescence quantitative-PCR) .ResultsRT-PCR: Either K16 of lung cancer or K16 of lung benign lesions showes a shallow-color band . FQ-PCR: The ratio of K16 Ct value/GAPDH Ct value is the accurate concentration of K16. the concentration of K16 mRNA in 26 lung cancerspecimens is 1.05 0.07,in 10 lung benign lesions 1.08 0.06. The differentiation of K16 between lung cancer and benign lesions is no statistic evidence (t=1.187, P = 0.243) according to independent -sample t test in SPSS for windows 10.0. The concentration of K16 mRNA in 17 squamous cancer specimens is 1.03 0.07, and the differentiation of K16 between squamous cancer and benign lesions is also no statistic evidence (t=1.68, P = 0.106) .Conclusion1. Both lung cancer tissues and lung benign lesions express keratin 16 mRNA with a low level.2. Keratin 16 mRNA expression level is perhaps no significanct differentiation between lung cancer specimens and lung benign lesions by the biopsy under fibrobronchscopy .