Background: HMGA2 is a small non-histone chromosomal protein. Recently, HMGA2 expression has been found in various malignant tumors and often correlates with the aggressiveness of the tumors. We investigated the expression of HMGA2 in the patients with non-small cell lung cancer and its clinical prognostic significance.
Methods: The expression level of HMGA2 in 59 patients with non-small cell lung cancer and 10 patients with benign lesions was detected by immunohistochemistry. Expression differences of HMGA2 and its relationship with the patients survival were analyzed with Chi-Square test, Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox regression.
Results: There were 47 cases expressing HMGA2 (78%), positive rates for HMGA2 expression in pulmonary squamous, adenocarcinoma and squamous-adenocarcinoma were 70.4%, 82.1% and 100%, respectively. But there was no HMGA2 expression in the benign lesions. Differences of HMGA2 expression were significant between the two groups (P =0.013). It was also more highly expressed in the cases with lymphonode metastasis (P =0.007). Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that the disease stage was independently prognostic factors in NSCLC patients.
Conclusions: HMGA2 is overexpressed in the nonsmall cell lung cancer and related with disease stage and lymphonode metastasis. HMGA2 expression may be of prognostic importance in NSCLC.