Expressions of Cox-2 and P63 Protein in Non-small Cell Lung Cancers and Their Meanings

Objective To study the relationship of the expressions of cyclooxygenase 2(COX-2) and P63 protein in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) with the clinical pathological factors of NSCLC. Methods The expressions of cox-2 and P63 protein in 78 cases of NSCLC were determined by immunohistochemical SP technique. Results The positive rates of COX-2 and P63 protein expressions in 78 cases of NSCLC were 61.5% (48/78) and 56.4% (44/78) respectively. The positive rate (91.4%,32/35) of COX-2 expression in the adenocarcinomas was significantly higher than that (37.2%,16/43) in the squamous cell carcinomas(P0.01). The positive rate (86.7%,39/45) of COX-2 expression in NSCLC with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that (27.3%,9/33) in NSCLC without lymph node metastasis(P0.01).The positive rate (29.7%,11/37) of COX-2 expression in the clinical stage I-II NSCLC was significantly lower than that (90.2%,37/41)in the clinical stage III-IV NSCLC (P0.01).The positive rate (90.7%,39/43) of P63 expression in the squamous cell carcinomas was significantly higher than that (14.3%,5/35) in the adenocarcinomas(P0.01).The positive rate (57.8%,26/45) of P63 expression in NSCLC with lymph node metastasis was insignificantly higher than that (54.5%,18/33) in NSCLC without lymph node metastasis (P0.05).The positive rate (64.9%,24/37) of P63 expression in the clinical stage I-II NSCLC was insignificantly higher than that (48.8%,20/41) in the clinical stage III-IV NSCLC (P0.05). Conclusion It is suggested that the over-expression of COX-2 in NSCLC is closely related to the development, metastasis and clinical stage of NSCLC. The over-expression of P63 protein is of reference value to differentiating the adenocarcinomas from squamous cell carcinomas in the patients with NSCLC.