[Expression and significance of Elf-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in non-small cell lung cancer].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The roles of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in tumor angiogenesis is related with Ets family. Elf-1, a member of Ets family, has seldom been studied. This study aimed to investigate the expression of Elf-1 and VEGF in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and explore their correlations to clinicopathologic features of NSCLC.

METHODS: Tissue microarray containing 69 specimens of NSCLC and six specimens of normal lung tissues was constructed. The expression of Elf-1 and VEGF was detected by PowerVision-9000 immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS: Elf-1 and VEGF were not detected in all normal tissues; the positive rates of Elf-1 and VEGF were 72.46% and 63.77% in NSCLC, respectively. The expression levels of both Elf-1 and VEGF were significantly related with tumor differentiation, lymphatic metastasis, clinical stage, and postoperative survival time (all P < 0.01). Overexpression of them was related with poor prognosis: the survival rates were significantly lower in positive patients than in negative patients (both P < 0.01). Elf-1 expression was positively correlated to VEGF expression (r = 0.702, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: The expression of Elf-1 and VEGF in NSCLC is related to differentiation, lymphatic metastasis, clinical stage and prognosis. Detecting their expression in combination can help to predict the malignant behavior of NSCLC.