Aurora-B overexpression is correlated with aneuploidy and poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer.

Aurora-B is a key regulator of mitosis, and the overexpression has been detected in a variety of solid tumors. The Aurora-B overexpression has been suggested to correlate with clinical aggressiveness and aneuploidy in vitro, however, the frequency of overexpression of Aurora-B protein, the association with clinicopathologic parameters and aneuploidy remain poorly defined in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Using 157 surgical specimens of human NSCLC, we here show that overexpression of Aurora-B proteins are significantly correlated with aneuploidy and poor outcomes in NSCLC. We examined immunohistochemical protein expression of Aurora-B, and DNA ploidy by laser scanning cytometry in 157 NSCLC cases. Aurora-B overexpression was found in 83 cases (53%) of NSCLC, and was significantly correlated with vascular invasion (p=0.012), poor differentiation (p<0.001), larger tumor size (p=0.010) and lymph node metastasis (p=0.05) and poor prognosis (p=0.011). Aneuploidy was found in 87 cases (57%), and was significantly correlated with Aurora-B overexpression (p=0.0065). Logistic multivariate analysis revealed overexpression of Aurora-B protein to be significant risk factors for aneuploidy compared with other factors. These results indicate that Aurora-B overexpression may contribute to malignant potential and increased aneuploidy in NSCLC. Thus, Aurora-B may serve as a new therapeutic target in against patients with NSCLC, although further studies will be necessary.