| [OBJECTIVE] To explore clinical significance of micrometastasis in patients with lung cancer by detecting beta 1, 4-N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GalNAc T) mRNA expression in lung cancer tissue, lymph node, and peripheral blood.[METHODS] By using nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (nested RT-PCR), the expression of GalNAc T mRNA was detected in tumor tissue,peripheral blood and lymph nodes from 35 patients with lung cancer in stageâ… a ndâ…¡. Samples from 12 patients with pulmonary benign tissue and blood from 10 healthy volunteers also were investigated as control groups.[RESULTS] The positive rates of GalNAc T were 62.86% (22/35), 45.75% (113/247), 22.86% (8/35) in tumor tissue,lymph nodes and peripheral blood from patients with lung cancer respectively, and negative in control groups. There was significant difference among groups (P<0.05). The presence of GalNAc T mRNA in patients with lung cancer had no significant correlation with age, sex, smoking history, histological type, and differentiation (P>0.05). But the micrometastases were closely related to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage of lung cancer (P<0.05). A total of 247 lymph nodes were resected, and 113 (45.75%) lymph nodes were positive detected by RT-PCR, but only 61 (24.70%) positive lymph nodes were identified by histopathology.[CONCLUSIONS] The molecular biological method was more sensitive than pathohistology in detecting the lymph node metastasis. GalNAc T was specific expression in the patients with lung cancer. There was a closed relation between the peripheral blood and Lymph node for the expression of GalNAc T. The presence of GalNAc T mRNA in peripheral blood could be used as molecular biomarkers of micrometastasis in patients with lung cancer. It can also provide important clinical information for the evaluation of prognosis and in the selection of appropriate treatment strategies. |
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