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Prognostic significance of sphingosine kinase 2 expression in non-small cell lung cancer

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Tumor Biology

Abstract

Sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2) as a conserved lipid kinase has not been thoroughly elucidated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression of SphK2 in NSCLC tissues and to determine its correlation with clinicopathologic characteristics and its impact on patient prognosis. We assessed the expression of SphK2 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) (as a proliferative index) by immunohistochemistry in 180 NSCLC patient's formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. Relationship between the expression of SphK2 and PCNA and various clinicopathological features in these patients was evaluated. We detected that expression of SphK2 was gradually upregulated from normal, metaplasia/dysplasia tissues to NSCLC tissues. At the same time, PCNA expression followed a similar pattern. Statistical analysis showed that expression of SphK2 in NSCLC tissues was strongly associated with PCNA expression, histology grade, live vaccine strain invasion, lymph node status, clinical stage, tumors size, and histology type. Patients with SphK2 overexpression in their tissues had lower overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates than those with low SphK2 expression. Using uni- and multivariate analysis, we found that SphK2 overexpression was an independent prognostic factor for both OS and DFS. The expression of SphK2 parallels the progression of NSCLC, and SphK2 overexpression may represent a novel and potentially independent biomarker for the prognosis of patients with NSCLC.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the fund Heilongjiang Postdoctoral Fund (LBH-Z10059), colleges and universities in the Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics Foundation of Heilongjiang Province, and research projects of the Heilongjiang Provincial Health Bureau (2011-118).

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None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China

    Qiushi Wang, Guanghua Li & Guangquan Xu

  2. Department of Infection, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China

    Jingyuan Li

  3. Institute of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, Center for Endemic Disease Control, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China

    Ming Li

  4. Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China

    Songbin Fu

  5. Bio-pharmaceutical Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, 150086, China

    Songbin Fu

  6. Department of Hematology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China

    Chunlin Xu

  7. Department of Medical Oncology, The Third Affiliated (Tumor) Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150040, China

    Yinghong Li

Authors
  1. Qiushi Wang
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  2. Jingyuan Li
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  3. Guanghua Li
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  4. Yinghong Li
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  5. Chunlin Xu
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  6. Ming Li
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  7. Guangquan Xu
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  8. Songbin Fu
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guangquan Xu or Songbin Fu.

Additional information

Qiushi Wang and Jingyuan Li contributed equally to this paper.

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Wang, Q., Li, J., Li, G. et al. Prognostic significance of sphingosine kinase 2 expression in non-small cell lung cancer. Tumor Biol. 35, 363–368 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1051-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1051-1

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