Expression of Elf-1 and survivin and Their Clinical Implication in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective To study the expression of Elf-1 and relationship with survivin and biological behaveior in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Tissue microarray from 72 cases of NSCLC was developed.The expression of Elf-1 and survivin were detected by immuno-histochemistry staining with PV-9000 method. Results Elf-1 was mostly located in nucleus and in cytoplasm.The positive expression of Elf-1 was observed in 53 cases(73.61%),and its intensity of expression was related to the differentiation stages of the cancer （χ²=14.849，P=0.021）,and significant differences were observed between different clinical stages (χ²=24.127,P=0.000).The intensity of Elf-1 expression was significantly higher in the group with lymph node metastasis than that without（χ²=18.342，P=0.000）;Positive expression of survivin was also observed in 44 cases（61.11%）,its intensity of expression was related to the differentiation stages of the cancer （χ²=16.251,P=0.012）,and significant differences were noticed between different clinical stages (χ²=20.570,P=0.000).The intensity of survivin expression was significantly higher in the group with lymph node metastasis than that without（χ²=8.723，P=0.033）;Positive correlation was found between the expression intensity of Elf-1 and survivin（τ=0.255，P＜0.05）. Conclusion The expression intensity of Elf-1 is closely correlated with survivin.The expression of Elf-1 and wurvivin is related to differentiation degree，clinical stage and lymph node metastasis of non-small-cell lung cancer.Elf-1 and survivin might serve as important parameters in evaluating biological behaviors of non-small-cell lung cancer.