[Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of ERα and ERβ expression in lung carcinomas: a tissue microarray study].

OBJECTIVE

To detect the expression of ERα and ERβ in lung carcinomas and investigate their clinicopathological and prognostic significance by using tissue microarray assay and immunohistochemical staining.

METHODS

Six hundred and ninety-eight lung cancer specimens were used in this study, including 651 cases of non-small cell lung carcimomas (NSCLCs) and 47 cases of small cell lung cancers (SCLCs). There were 309 cases of adenocarcimoma and 342 cases of squamous cell carcinoma. The expression of ERα and ERβ was analyzed by immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded sections.

RESULTS

In the normal lung tissues, expression of ERα and ERβ was 0% (0/35) and 25.0% (9/36), respectively. In the tumor tissues, ERα was expressed in 209 of 295 AC cases (70.8%), 169 of 330 SCC cases (51.2%) and 9 of 47 SCLC cases (19.1%) (P < 0.001). ERβ was expressed in 200 of 297 AC cases (67.3%), 140 of 322 SCC cases (43.5%) and 31 of 47 SCLC cases (66.0%) (P < 0.001). In NSCLC, the expression of ERα and ERβ was significantly associated with smoking, stage and lymph node metastasis, also with sex refer to ERβ (P < 0.05), but not significantly with age, tumor size and degree of differentiation (P > 0.05). Follow-up was completed in 398 NSCLC cases, and no significant correlation was found between the prognosis and expression of ERα and ERβ.

CONCLUSIONS

The expression of ERα and ERβ has significant difference in lung adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell lung cancer. In NSCLC, expression of ERα and ERβ is associated with smoking, stage, and lymph node metastasis. The expression of ERβ is higher in female than in male NSCLC patients.