Dysregulation of SLC34A2 (NaPi2b) in tumors has attracted wide attention, but its expression and function in non-small cell lung cancer remains unclear. By examining its expression in lung adenocarcinoma and correlation to patient outcome, we aimed to explore its prognostic and therapeutic values in this deadly disease. Overall, 175 cases of lung adenocarcinoma sample were included in this study. Histological subtyping of them was diagnosed according to standards of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society in 2011. Protein expression of SLC34A2 and anaplastic lymphoma kinase in these samples was determined by immunohistochemistry. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations were examined using amplification refractory mutation system. Statistical analysis was performed using software of Pearson's correlation coefficient. High expression of SLC34A2 was identified in about 2/3 patients and correlated with significantly better patient's overall survival. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations were detected in about 53% of patients with no statistically significant difference to patient's overall survival. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement was found in 8 out of 175 patients, harboring this abnormality leads to shorter overall survival. No correlation has been found between SLC34A2 expression and epidermal growth factor receptor mutation or anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements in lung adenocarcinoma. High expression of SLC34A2 is present in about 3/4 lung adenocarcinoma samples and predicts better outcome. Since it is a membrane protein, antibody-based drugs targeting this marker might bring new resolution to this deadly disease.
Keywords: Lung adenocarcinoma; SLC34A2; anaplastic lymphoma kinase; epidermal growth factor receptor; prognostic marker.