The Expression Of COX-2 And E-cad And Their Clinical Significance In Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective:In this study,the expression of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and epithelial cadherin(E-cadherin, E-cad) were detected in 56 cases of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) tissues specimens and 15 cases of normal lung tissues specimens,in order to investigate the relationship between their expression and the clinicopathological features of patients with NSCLC such as age,sex,smoking history, differentiation of lung cancer tissues,tumor size,lymph node metastasis,clinical stage and prognosis.Methods:The expression of COX-2 and E-cad were detected by immunohistochemical staining on 56 cases of NSCLC tissues specimens and 15 cases of normal lung tissues specimens in order to investigate the relationship between their expression and the clinicopathological features of patients with NSCLC such as age,sex,smoking history,differentiation of lung cancer tissues,clinical stage,tumor size,lymph node metastasis and prognosis.All of the NSCLC tissues specimens were from patients with resected NSCLC from February 2004 to October 2005 in the Thoracic Surgery Department,the People's Hospital of Hebei Province.Among them,26 cases were younger than 60 years old,30 cases were older than 60 years old; 39 cases were male,17 cases were female;22 cases had no smoking history,34 cases had smoking history;30 cases were squamous cell carcinoma,26 cases were adenocarcinoma;35 cases were medium to well differentiated,21 cases were poorly differentiated;25 cases were less than or equal to 3cm in tumor diameter,31 cases were bigger than 3cm in tumor diameter;24 cases had no lymph node metastasis,32 cases had lymph node metastasis;33 cases were in clinical stageⅠorⅡ,23 cases were in clinical stageⅢorⅣ.All statistical analyses were carried out with using SAS V8 statistical analysis software.The x~2 test was used to examine the relationship between the COX-2 and E-cad expressions and the clinicopathological features of patients with NSCLC such as age, sex,smoking history,differentiation of lung cancer tissues, clinical stage,tumor size,lymph node metastasis and prognosis. The Spearman Rank Correlation Analysis was used to examine the correlation of the COX-2 and E-cad expressions.All of the statistical tests were two-sided and P values of 0.05 or less were considered to be statistically significant.Results:1 the correlation between the expression of COX-2 and the clinicopathological features of patients with NSCLCThe COX-2 positive staining was mainly located in the cytoplasm of NSCLC cells,sometimes was located in nuclear membrane,showing brown diffuse distribution,and normal lung tissues was not stained.The COX-2 positive expression rate in NSCLC tissues(58.93%,3/56) was significantly higher than that in normal lung tissues(0.00%,0/15)(P＜0.01).The COX-2 expression was associated with smoking history,histological type and clinical stage of patients with NSCLC.The COX-2 positive expression rate in smoking group(73.53%,25/34) was significantly higher than that in none-smoking group(36.36%, 8/22)(P＜0.01),in lung adenocarcinoma(76.92%,20/26) was significantly higher than that in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung(43.33%,13/30)(P＜0.05),and in stageⅢandⅣgroup(78.26%,18/23) was significantly higher than in stageⅠandⅡgroup(45.45%,15/33)(P＜0.05).The COX-2 expression was not associated with lung cancer tissues differentiation, tumor size,lymph node involvement,the patients' age and sex(P＞0.05 for all).The expression of COX-2 was associated with poor prognosis of patients with NSCLC.The three year survival rate of patients with NSCLC in the COX-2 positive group(45.45%) was significantly lower than that in the COX-2 negative group(78.26%)(P＜0.05).2 the correlation between the expression of E-cad and the clinicopathological features of patients with NSCLCE-cad positive staining was mainly located in the cytoplasm of NSCLC cells,sometimes was located in cell membrane and nuclear membrane,showing brown diffuse distribution,and all of the normal lung tissues were stained.The E-cad positive expression rate in NSCLC tissues(44.64%,25/56) was significantly lower than that in normal lung tissues(100.00%,15/15)(P＜0.01).The E-cad expression was associated with lymph node involvement and clinical stage of patients with NSCLC.The E-cad positive expression rate in lymph node involvement group(28.13%,9/32) was significantly lower than those without lymph node involvement(66.67%, 16/24)(P＜0.01),in stageⅢandⅣgroup(21.74%,5/23) was significantly lower than in stageⅠandⅡgroup(60.61%,20/33) (P＜0.01).The E-cad expression was not associated with lung cancer histological type,tissue differentiation,tumor size, lymph node involvement,the patients' age,sex and smoking history(P＞0.05 for all).The less expression of E-cad or loss were associated with poor prognosis of patients with NSCLC. The three year survival rate of patients with NSCLC in the E-cad negative group(32.26%) was significantly lower than that in the E-cad positive group(76.00%)(P＜0.01).3 the correlation between the expression of COX-2 and E-Cad in NSCLC tissuesThe COX-2 expression and the E-cad expression in NSCLC tissues were inversely correlated(r_s=-0.63758,P＜0.0001).Conclusions:1 The COX-2 positive expression rate in NSCLC tissues is higher than that in normal lung tissues.The COX-2 expression is associated with clinical stage,smoking history and histological type of patients with NSCLC.The COX-2 positive expression rate in stageⅢandⅣis higher than that in stageⅠ andⅡ,in smoking group is higher than in no smoking group. COX-2 involves in the occurrence and development of NSCLC and reinforces the carcinogenesis of smoking.The COX-2 positive expression rate in lung adenocarcinoma is higher than in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.COX-2 is associated with the biological characteristics of earlier metastasis via blood of lung adenocarcinoma.2 The E-cad positive expression rate in NSCLC tissues is lower than that in normal lung tissues.The E-cad expression is associated with lymph node involvement and clinical stage of patients with NSCLC.The E-cad positive expression rate in lymph node involvement group is lower than those without lymph node involvement,in stageⅢandⅣgroup is lower than in stageⅠandⅡgroup.In other words,the less expression of E-cad or loss are associated with the progress of NSCLC.3 The COX-2 expression was not associated with lung cancer tissue differentiation,tumor size,lymph node involvement,the patients' age and sex.The E-cad expression is not associated with lung cancer histological type,tissue differentiation,tumor size,lymph node involvement,the patients' age,sex and smoking history.4 The high expression of COX-2 is associated with poor prognosis of patients with NSCLC.The three year survival rate of patients with NSCLC in the COX-2 positive group is lower than that in the COX-2 negative group.The less expression of E-cad or loss are associated with poor prognosis of patients with NSCLC.The three year survival rate of patients with NSCLC in the E-cad negative group is lower than that in the E-cad positive group.5 The COX-2 expression and the E-cad expression in NSCLC tissues are inversely correlated.6 Joint detection of the expression of COX-2 and E-cad in NSCLC tissues is of guiding significance in judging the prognosis of patients with NSCLC:COX-2 positive and E-cad negative simultaneously indicate bad prognosis,while COX-2 negative and E-cad positive simultaneously indicate good prognosis.