Background: To analyze the prognostic significance of the genes casein kinase 2 alpha subunit (CSNK2A1), anti-apoptosis clone-11 (AAC-11), and tumor metastasis suppressor NME1 in completely resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.
Material/methods: Total RNA was extracted from 145 cases of completely resected, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded NSCLC tissues. mRNA expression levels of CSNK2A1, AAC-11, and NME1 were detected by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were used to identify factors related to prognosis.
Results: A correlation between CSNK2A1 and AAC-11 mRNA expression levels (rs=0.366, p=0.000) was found. Univariate analysis showed that high expression of CSNK2A1 and AAC-11 was predictive of poor prognosis in NSCLC patients (p=0.029 and 0.044, respectively), especially when expression levels of both genes were concomitantly high (p=0.007). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that high expression of CSNK2A1, or concomitantly high expression of CSNK2A1 and AAC-11, are independent prognostic factors of poor survival in NSCLC patients. However, NME1 mRNA expression level did not significantly influence survival in NSCLC patients.
Conclusions: This retrospective study indicates that CSNK2A1 and AAC-11, especially in combination, are useful prognosis markers in NSCLC patients after complete resection, independent of lymph node metastasis status.