Low OCEL1 expression is associated with poor prognosis in human non-small cell lung cancer

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Deng, Mingming^{a; e; f; 1} | Zhang, Zhe^{b; 1} | Liu, Bofang^c | Lv, Qingjie^b | Hou, Kezuo^c | Che, Xiaofang^c | Qu, Xiujuan^c | Liu, Yunpeng^c | Zhang, Ye^{d; *} | Hu, Xuejun^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Respiratory and Infectious Disease of Geriatrics, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China | [b] Department of Pathology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China | [c] Department of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China | [d] The First Laboratory of Cancer Institute, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China | [e] Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Center of Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China | [f] The Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding authors: Ye Zhang, The First Laboratory of Cancer Institute, The First Hospital of China Medical University, No. 155 North Nanjing Street, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, China. Tel.: +86 24 83282312; Fax: +86 24 83282543; E-mail: yzhang21@cmu.edu.cn; Xuejun Hu, Department of Respiratory and Infectious Disease of Geriatrics, The First Hospital of China Medical University, NO. 155 North Nanjing Street, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, China. Tel.: +86 24 83283768; Fax: +86 24 83283768; E-mail: huxuejun2015@126.com.

Note: [1] Mingming Deng and Zhe Zhang contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Occludin/ELL domain containing 1 (OCEL1) is a novel discovered protein with its molecular functions remaining unknown and its role in lung cancer has not been directly explored. OBJECTIVES: This study focused on the role of OCEL1 in the progression and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: A public database and tissue samples (80 NSCLC tissue samples and paired normal lung samples) were used to compare differences in OCEL1 expression and investigate its relationship with clinical characteristics and prognosis. RESULTS: Compared to adjacent normal lung tissue samples, OCEL1 expression was significantly down-regulated in tumor tissues. In addition, there was a negative correlation between OCEL1 and Ki67 expression levels. Low OCEL1 expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, higher TNM stage, and poor prognosis. Importantly, multivariate analysis identified OCEL1 expression as an independent predictor for unfavorable NSCLC prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that OCEL1 protein may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker in NSCLC.

Keywords: OCEL1, NSCLC, prognosis, immunohistochemistry

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-191268

Journal: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 519-524, 2020