The Clinical and Histopathologic Features according to Loss of LKB1 Protein Expression on Primary Lung Cancer.

Hwang, Ki Eun; Jo, Hyang Jeong; Lee, Kang Kyoo; Shim, Hyeok; Song, Jung Sub; Shin, Jeong Hyun; Shin, Seong Nam; Park, Seong Hoon; Hong, Kyeong Man; Park, Jung Hyun; Jeong, Jong Hoon; Kim, Hui Jung; Kim, Hak Ryul; Yang, Sei Hoon; Jeong, Eun Taik

doi:2008.64.5.362

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 64(5); 2008 > Article

Original Article

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2008;64(5):362-368.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2008.64.5.362 Published online May 1, 2008.

The Clinical and Histopathologic Features according to Loss of LKB1 Protein Expression on Primary Lung Cancer.

Ki Eun Hwang, Hyang Jeong Jo, Kang Kyoo Lee, Hyeok Shim, Jung Sub Song, Jeong Hyun Shin, Seong Nam Shin, Seong Hoon Park, Kyeong Man Hong, Jung Hyun Park, Jong Hoon Jeong, Hui Jung Kim, Hak Ryul Kim, Sei Hoon Yang, Eun Taik Jeong

¹Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Korea. yshpul@wonkwang.ac.kr
²Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Korea.
³Department of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, College of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Korea.
⁴Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Korea.
⁵Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
LKB1(STK11) is a serine/threonine kinase that functions as a tumor growth suppressor. The functions of LKB1 in lung cancer are not completely understood. This study evaluated the relationship between LKB1 protein expression and the clinicopathological features in lung cancer tissues. METHODS: The expression of LKB1 was studied in paraffin-embedded tumor blocks, which were obtained from 77 patients who had undergone surgery at Wonkwang University Hospital. The expression of the LKB1 protein was considered positive if the staining intensity in the tumor tissue adjacent to the normal airway epithelium was >30%. RESULTS: The LKB1 expression was positive in 31 (40%) of samples. Loss of LKB1 expression was significantly associated with being male, smoking history, and squamous cell carcinoma. In the peripheral sites, the loss of LKB1 expression was strongly associated with a smoking history. A loss of LKB1 expression was more frequently associated with progression according to TNM staging, particularly more than T2, N progression. CONCLUSION: There was a significant relationship between the loss of the LKB1 protein and gender, smoking history, and histological type in primary lung cancer. Although LKB1 expression was not found to be a significant prognostic factor, further studies with a larger cohort of patient's lung cancer tissue samples will be needed to confirm this.

Key Words: LKB1, Gender, Smoking, Lung cancer