CD117 expression is a predictive marker for poor prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for >85% of incidences of lung cancer, for which the predicted 5-year survival rates are low and recurrence rates remain high. Although it has been reported that the patients with SCLC cells that possess the cluster of differentiation (CD) 117 marker exhibited poor prognosis and poor response to Chemotherapy, no studies concerning the association of CD117 expression with prognosis of the patients with NSCLC have been reported. An in vitro study reportedly revealed that CD1I17-positive cell populations in NSCLC cell lines exhibited cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotypes including self-renewal and chemoresistance. Therefore, the present study hypothesized that if CDI17-positive cells are CSC-like cells, CD1.1.7 positivity may he associated with the prognosis of patients with NSCLC. To confirm this hypothesis, the association between CD117 expression in patients with NSCLC and clinicopathological characteristics was investigated. CD177 expression was examined by.immunohistochemistry in 99 patients with NSCIE who underwent curative surgical resection. Tumor samples in the present study included 73 samples of adenocarcinoma and 26 of squamous carcinoma. The associations of CD177 expression with clinicopathological features and prognosis were examined. The lymph node metastasis and rates of recurrence were significantly associated with overall survival rates through multivariate analysis (P<0.001I and P<0.001), respectively. A Kaplan-1\166 analysis for relapse-free survival and the log-rank test revealed that the patients with CD117-positive cell populations exhibited shorter relapse-free survival rates compared with patients whose cells were CD.1.17Hnegative (P=0.0.1.4). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that venous invasion, pathological stage, and CD.117 expression were independent prognostic parameters for relapse-free survival in patients with NSCLC (P=0.001I, P=0.00.1. and P=0.002), respectively. In conclusion, these data suggest that CD1117 expression in NSCLC may serve as a useful marker for predicting the prognosis of patients with NSCLC.