Clinical Significance Of Cyclooxygenase-2 And Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Overexpression In Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective To study the expression of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC),and to evaluate its clinical significance as the prognosis marker in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC), and to investigate their correlation in NSCLC.Methods COX-2 and EGFR were evaluated by immunohistochemical methods to surgically resected tissue samples of 58 patients with NSCLC. 9 case paracancerous lung tissue samples was taken as negtive control.Results The positive rate of COX-2 in NSCLC and in normal tissue was 60.34% and 11.11% respectively (P=0.009) .There was a statistically significant correlation between COX-2 expression with TNM stage and lymph node metastases ( P<0.01),but not with age, sex, pathological kinds and smoking history (P>0.05) .A significant relationship between elevated COX-2 expression and shortened 5-year survial rate was observed in COX-2 positive group (P <0.01) , The positive rate of EGFR in NSCLC and in normal tissue was 63.79% and 11.11% respectively (P=0.003), There was a statistically significant correlation between EGFR expression with TNM stage and lymph node metastases ( P<0.01),but not with age, sex, pathological kinds and smoking history (P>0,05) .A significant relationship between elevated EGFR expression and shortened 5-year survial rate was observed in EGFR positive group (P <0.01) ,There was positive correlation in expression of COX-2 and EGFR( Y =0.86).Conclusion These findings suggest that COX-2 and EGFR overexpression may be clinically significant for the prognosis of NSCLC patients undergoing surgical resection . There was positive correlation in expression of COX-2 and EGFR, COX-2 inhibitor and/or EGFR antagonists may have greater efficacy of their use as adjuncts to various anticanceragents and have potential value in the treatment of NSCLC.