Background and objective: It has been proven that MTA2 was expressed in many tumor cell lines and was correlated with tumor invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of MTA2 protein in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to explore the relationship between the expression of MTA2 and the pathological features.
Methods: The expression of MTA2 protein in 110 cases of NSCLC and 34 cases corresponding lung tissues was detected with immunohistochemistry method. The relationship between the expression of MTA2 and the pathological features in NSCLC was analyzed statistically.
Results: There was no expression of MTA2 protein in cancer collateral branch trachea epithelial and alveolar epithelial, but there was some expression in partial NSCLC. The positive rate of MTA2 was 58.18% (64/110) in 110 NSCLC cases. The expression of MTA2 had negative correlation with differentiation degree of NSCLC but had positive correlation with clinical stage and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05), moreover, it had no obvious correlation with age, gender and pathological type (P>0.05).
Conclusion: There was some expression of MTA2 in partial NSCLC and it was correlated with differentiation degree, clinical stage and lymph node metastasis. The results show that the occurrence and development of lung cancer may be related with MTA2. MTA2 may act as a new symbol and target in the treatment of lung cancer.
背景与目的: 已有研究发现转移相关蛋白2（metastasis-associated protein 2, MTA2）在多种肿瘤细胞系中表达且与肿瘤侵袭转移密切相关。本研究旨在研究MTA2在非小细胞肺癌（non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC）中的表达，并探讨MTA2表达与临床病理特征的关系。
方法: 采用免疫组织化学（SP）方法检测110例非小细胞肺癌标本及34例癌旁肺组织中MTA2蛋白表达，并统计分析其表达与NSCLC临床病理特征关系。
结果: MTA2在癌旁肺支气管上皮和肺泡上皮中无表达，在部分NSCLC中呈阳性表达。110例NSCLC标本中MTA2阳性表达率为58.18%（64/110)，MTA2阳性表达与NSCLC的分化程度呈负相关，与临床分期、淋巴结转移呈正相关（P < 0.05），与年龄、性别、NSCLC的病理分型无明显相关性（P > 0.05）。
结论: MTA2蛋白在部分NSCLC中呈阳性表达且与其分化程度、临床分期、淋巴结转移密切相关，提示肺癌的发生发展可能与MTA2有关，MTA2可能是肺癌新的标志物及治疗靶点。