Expression and Clinical Significance of Serum Krüppel-Like Factor 7 (KLF7) in NSCLC Patients

Abstract

Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a serious threat to the life and health of patients with high incidence rate and mortality. The present research was to assess the relationship between the serum Krüppel-like factor 7 (KLF7) level and the recurrence and metastasis of NSCLC patients. 150 patients with NSCLC treated by thoracoscopic radical resection of lung cancer in our hospital from January 2016 to February 2017 were selected. As the control group, 148 healthy people who went to the hospital for physical examination in the same period were screened. The expression levels of serum KLF7 in the observation group and the control group were compared and analyzed. According to the level of KLF7 expression, the patients in the observation group were divided into KLF7 high expression group (≥258.6 ng/L, $n$  =75) and KLF7 low expression group (<258.6 ng/L, $n$  =75). The 3-year recurrence and metastasis rate of patients in each group was compared and analyzed. It was found the concentration of serum KLF7 in peripheral blood of NSCLC (2.25 ± 0.65) ng/ml was significantly higher than that in healthy population (1.42 ± 0.38) ng/ml ( $P<0.05$ ). The expression level of serum KLF7 was not related to gender, age, smoking history, and tumor diameter of NSCLC patients ( $P>0.05$ ), but related to the degree of differentiation and TNM stage of NSCLC patients ( $P<0.05$ ). Univariate analysis showed that the degree of differentiation, TNM stage, and KLF7 were significantly correlated with 3-year recurrence and metastasis of NSCLC patients ( $P<0.05$ ). Cox regression analysis showed that low degree of differentiation, TNM stage IIIa, and KLF7 were independent risk factors for recurrence and metastasis in NSCLC patients in 3 years ( $P<0.05$ ). Taken together, the expression level of serum KLF7 in patients with NSCLC is significantly increased, which is an independent risk factor for recurrence and metastasis in 3 years, and is worthy of clinical application.