Expression of OCT-4 in lung cancer and its clinical significance

Objective:To investigate the expression of OCT-4 as a stem cell marker in lung cancer tissues and its clincal significance.Methods: From 2003-2006,40 paraffin samples of lung cancer tissues were obtained,and the expression of OCT-4 was examined by immunohistochemical staining.Normal tissues adjacent to lung cancer and 10 normal lung tissues were used as controls.The clincopathological data of 40 lung cancer patients and their relationship with the expression of OCT-4 were retrospectively analysed.All 40 patients were followed for 3 years to investigate the metastatic conditions.Westernblot was used to detect the expression of OCT-4 between lung adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma.Results: The positive expression rate of OCT-4 in lung cancer tissues was 37.5%,significantly higher than that of normal tissues adjacent to normal lung tissues(0%).The expression of OCT-4 was positively correlated to the clinical stage of lung cancer.The 3-year relapse rate in lung cancer with OCT-4 positive expression was higher than that in lung cancer with OCT-4 negative expression.Westernblot results showed the expression of OCT-4 in lung adenocarcinoma was higher than that in squamous carcinoma.Conclusion: The expression of OCT-4 is correlated with the clinical stage and the metastasis of lung cancer.It could be a potential prognostic marker for the patients with lung cancer.