Decreased Expression of Decorin and p57(KIP2) Correlates with Poor Survival and Lymphatic Metastasis in Lung Cancer Patients

Abstract

Purpose Decorin, p57(KIP2), and TGF-beta 1 have been investigated as prognostic factors because they appear to be associated with tumorigenesis; however, the effect of decorin and p57(KIP2) in lung cancer remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of decorin, p57(KIP2), and TGF-beta 1 in 64 lung cancer specimens and 36 normal lung specimens, and to analyze the relationships with respect to clinicopathological features and patient survival in lung cancer. Methods The expression levels of decorin, p57(KIP2), and TGF-beta 1 were examined by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Results Normal tissues exhibited a higher expression level of decorin than tumor tissues (P<0.05) and tumor tissues exhibited a higher expression level of TGF-beta 1 than normal tissues (P<0.05). The expression levels of p57(KIP2) and TGF-beta 1 were significantly associated with histological types of lung cancer (P<0.05), and the expression levels of decorin and p57(KIP2) were significantly associated with lymphatic invasion (P<0.05). Moreover, increased expression of decorin and p57(KIP2) correlated with increased survival (decorin, p=0.018; p57(KIP2), p=0.012). Conclusion Decreased expression levels of decorin and p57(KIP2) were associated with poor postsurgical survival time and lymphatic metastasis in lung cancer patients; moreover, low expression was an adverse prognostic factor.