Lung-specific X Protein Expression in Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Its Clinical Signifcance

[Purpose] To explore the clinical significance of lung-specific X protein(LUNX)gene for diagnosis to micrometastases in peripheral blood and bone marrow in non-small-cell lung cancer patients.[Methods] The LUNX mRNA expression was detected by TaqMan-based RT-PCR assays in peripheral blood and bone marrow from 42 cases with lung cancer and with 12 benign pulmonary lesion.[Results] The positive rates of LUNX mRNA in peripheral blood and bone marrow from lung cancer patients were 33.3 %(14/42)and 23.8 %(10/42)respectively.There was no significant difference between the positive rates of LUNX mRNA and that of CK-19 mRNA(P0.05).The micrometastases in peripheral blood and bone marrow were closely related to the pathological type,cell differentiation and TNM stage(P0.05).[Conclusions] LUNX mRNA might be a valuable marker for micrometastases in lung cancer patients,which may also provide important clinical information for prognositic evaluation and proper treatment planning.