Department of Respiratory Medicine, Medical School, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece.
Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2012 Dec;67(12):1373-8. doi: 10.6061/clinics/2012(12)05.
The aim of this study was to compare the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and vascular endothelial growth factor in small cell lung cancer and subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer and examine their relationships with clinicopathologic factors, response to treatment and survival.
We examined samples obtained by bronchial endoscopic biopsy from 55 patients with inoperable lung cancer (16 with adenocarcinoma, 17 with squamous cell carcinoma, and 22 with small cell lung cancer). Hypoxiainducible factor 1α and vascular endothelial growth factor were detected using immunohistochemistry. The diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients were conducted according to the standard practice.
A significant difference (p=0.022) in hypoxia-inducible factor 1α expression was observed between nonsmall cell lung cancer (75.8% positive) and small cell lung cancer (45.5% positive). The frequency of hypoxiainducible factor 1α nuclear expression was 88.2% in squamous cell carcinoma, 62.5% in adenocarcinoma, and 45.5% in small cell lung cancer. A significant correlation was observed between hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and vascular endothelial growth factor expression (Fisher's exact test, p=0.001) when all types of lung cancer were examined, either collectively or separately.
The expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α differs significantly between subtypes of lung cancer. These findings could help elucidate the biology of the different types of non-operable lung carcinomas and have implications for the design of new therapeutic approaches for lung cancer.
本研究旨在比较缺氧诱导因子 1α（HIF-1α）和血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）在小细胞肺癌（SCLC）和非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）各亚型中的表达，并探讨其与临床病理因素、治疗反应和生存的关系。
我们对 55 例无法手术的肺癌患者（腺癌 16 例、鳞癌 17 例、小细胞肺癌 22 例）的支气管内镜活检标本进行了研究。采用免疫组织化学法检测 HIF-1α和 VEGF 的表达。根据标准实践对患者进行诊断、治疗和随访。
HIF-1α在 NSCLC（75.8%阳性）和 SCLC（45.5%阳性）之间的表达存在显著差异（p=0.022）。HIF-1α核表达的频率在鳞癌中为 88.2%，在腺癌中为 62.5%，在小细胞肺癌中为 45.5%。当所有类型的肺癌被同时或分别进行研究时，均观察到 HIF-1α和 VEGF 表达之间存在显著相关性（Fisher 确切检验，p=0.001）。
HIF-1α在肺癌各亚型中的表达存在显著差异。这些发现有助于阐明不同类型非手术性肺癌的生物学特性，并对肺癌新治疗方法的设计具有启示意义。
