Prognostic significance of RelB overexpression in non-small cell lung cancer patients

Background: Lung cancer is a major public health issue in most countries, including China. The expression of RelB is associated with poor prognosis in diverse cancers. However, whether RelB expression could be an indicator of poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unclear. Methods: The expression of RelB in NSCLC tumor tissue and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. Chi-square or two-tailed Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze possible associations between qualitative clinicopathological variables and RelB expression. Kaplan-Meier analysis and a Cox regression model were employed to determine independent prognostic factors. Results: The expression of RelB was increased in tumor tissue compared with adjacent non-neoplastic tissue in NSCLC patients. High RelB expression was significantly correlated with degree of differentiation (P = 0.023), depth of tumor invasion (P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.017), distant metastases (P = 0.004), and tumor node metastasis stage (P < 0.001) in patients with NSCLC. NSCLC patients with high RelB expression had significantly shorter overall survival than those with low RelB expression (P < 0.001). Our results indicate that high RelB expression is an independent prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC (P < 0.001). Conclusions: High RelB expression could provide a basis for judgment of prognosis in patients with NSCLC.