[Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of a panel of tumor biomarkers in lung adenocarcinoma: a tissue microarray study].

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma is one of the most common histological subtypes of lung cancer. The incidence of this disease was continuously increased. This study aims to detect the expressions of Napsin A, TTF-1, ERCC1, RRM1, EGFR, HER2, ERα, ERβ, PR, and Bcl-2 in lung adenocarcinoma and to explore their correlations with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis.
Methods: A total of 227 lung adenocarcinoma specimens were constructed in tissue microarrays. The expressions of the 10 tumor biomarkers were analyzed by immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded sections.
Results: Among the 10 markers, Napsin A was gender-related (P=0.049). Napsin A, PR, and EGFR were significantly associated with smoking. TTF-1 and ERCC1 were closely associated with tumor size. Napsin A, TTF-1, ERα, and PR were remarkably associated with tumor differentiation. TTF-1, Bcl-2, and ERCC1 were closely associated with tumor stage (P<0.05). No marker was related to age. No correlations were observed between ERβ, HER2, and RRM1 expressions and clinicopathological parameters (P>0.05). Univariate analysis results showed that Napsin A, TTF-1, and ERCC1 were significantly associated with overall survival. TTF-1 was remarkably associated with disease-free survival (P<0.05). Stage I cases were further analyzed and revealed that only Napsin A expression was associated with overall survival (P<0.05). No marker was correlated with disease-free survival (P>0.05). Multivariate analysis results showed that pathological staging was significantly associated with overall survival and disease-free survival (P<0.05). No marker was identified as a predictor of patient outcome (P>0.05).
Conclusions: Napsin A, TTF-1, and ERCC1 are the markers indicating good prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.