Expression and significance of PTEN gene and Ki67 protein in non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: To study the expression of gene PTEN,Ki67 protein in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and the relationships with cell proliferation.Methods: The protein expressions of PTEN and Ki67 were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 67 NSCLC patients and 41 adjacent normal lung tissue.The correlations with histopathologic and cell proliferation were also analyzed.Results: The positive expression of PTEN in adjacent normal lung tissues was higher than NSCLC(P0.05).The expression of PTEN was strongly correlated with tumor histology,histologic grade and lymph node metastasis(P0.05).The overexpression of Ki67 was associated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis(P0.05).PTEN expression was negatively related to the overexpression of Ki67(P0.05).Conclusion: The loss of PTEN expression plays different roles in tumorigenesis of NSCLC and in relation with high aggressiveness of the tumors.The loss of PTEN expression and overexpression of Ki67 can estimate the prognosis of NSCLC.