Expression and clinical significance of COX-2 and LRP in non-small cell lung cancer

Objective To observe the expression of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and lung resistance protein(LRP) in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC),and explore the relationship between COX-2-mediated drug resistance and LRP in NSCLC.Methods The expression of COX-2 and LRP was detected by immunohistochemistry in 58 cases NSCLC specimens and 22 cases normal lung tissues.The correlations of COX-2 and LRP expression with age,sex,histological type,differentiation,lymph node metastasis and staging were explored.Results The positive expression rate of COX-2 and LRP in NSCLC was higher than that of normal lung tissues(60.3%vs31.8%,75.9%vs41%,P both0.05),the expression level in pulmonary adenocarcinoma was higher than that of squamous cell carcinoma(P0.05);Neither COX-2 nor LRP expression was related with patient age and sex(P both0.05),but related with histological type,differentiation,lymph node metastasis and staging(P all0.05);There was a significant positive correlation between COX-2 and LRP expression in NSCLC(r=0.309,P0.05).Conclusion The expression of COX-2 and LRP in NSCLC was significantly higher;COX-2 mediates primary drug resistance in NSCLC perhaps through regulating the expression of LRP.Detecting the expression level of COX-2 and LRP has a certain guiding role in the comprehensive treatment of lung cancer.