Expression levels of SPINK1 and Vimentin in non-small cell lung cancer and its clinical significance

ObjectiveTo explore the expression levels of serine protease inhibitor Kazal 1(SPINK1) and Vimentin in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and its clinical significance.

MethodsThe expression levels of SPINK1 and Vimentin in 136 cases of NSCLC tissue and 62 cases of normal lung tissue were detected using the immunohistochemical SP method, and the data was analyzed using univariate Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis.

ResultsThe positive rates of SPINK1 and Vimentin expression in 136 cases of NSCLC tissue and 62 cases of normal tissues were 65.4%(89/136) and 52.9%(72/136) and 4.8%(3/62) and 3.2%(2/62), respectively, and the differences of which were statistically significant(P < 0.01).The differences of the expression levels of SPINK1 and Vimentin in NSCLC tissues with different TNM stages and lymph node metastasis were significantly significant(P < 0.05 to P < 0.01), and the difference of the expression level of SPINK1 in NSCLC tissues with different differentiation degrees was significantly significant(P < 0.05).The expression level of SPINK1 was positively correlated with Vimentin in NSCLC tissue(r_s=0.368, P < 0.01).The results of multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and expression levels of SPINK1 and Vimentin were the independent influencing factors of NSCLC prognosis(P < 0.05 to P < 0.01).

ConclusionsSPINK1 and Vimentin possibly play a role in the development, invasion and metastasis of NSCLC, and SPINK1 may act as a new indicator in predicting the prognosis of NSCLC.