Increased stathmin correlates with advanced stage and poor survival of non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Previous studies show that overexpression of stathmin involved in the malignant biological behavior of lung cancer. This investigation is to disclose the expression status of stathmin in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its clinical value for the diagnosis and prognosis to lung cancer. METHODS: The expression of stathmin in cells and tissues of NSCLC was examined using immunohistochemistry (IHC), insitu hybridization (ISH), and Western blot. The correlation between stathmin expression and survival of lung cancer patients was evaluated by a Kaplan-Meier method and the multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: NSCLC tissues and cells showed an overexpression of stathmin compared with normal lung tissues and cells (p < 0.05). And the expression level of stathmin was significantly associated with lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) (p < 0.05), lymphatic invasion (p < 0.05) and advanced stages of NSCLC (p < 0.05). Moreover, overexpression of stathmin predicted a reduced survival (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Increased stathmin correlated with pathologic grade, lymphatic invasion, advanced stage and poor survival of NSCLC, which indicated that stathmin could serve as a potential biomarker of NSCLC.