BACKGROUNDTo explore the expression level and its clinical significance of hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in non-small cell lung cancer.

METHODSThe expression of HIF-1α was detected in 68 human non-small cell lung cancer samples by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSThirty-nine (57.35%) out of 68 human non-small cell lung cancer samples were positive for HIF-1α. The positive rate of HIF-1α in adenocarcinoma was 54.76% (23/42) and 61.54% (16/26) in squamous cell carcinoma ( P > 0.05) respectively. The positive rate of HIF-1α in moderate- to well-differentiated samples was 74.29%(26/35) and 39.39%(13/33) in low-differentiated samples respectively ( P < 0.05). The expression rate of HIF-1α in I-II stage ( 86.96%, 20/23) was significantly higher than that in III-IV stage (42.22%,19/45)( P < 0.05). The positive expression of HIF-1α was not related to sex and age of patients and lymph node status.

CONCLUSIONSHigh expression of HIF-1α exists in non-small cell lung cancer, and it may be related to cell differentiation and TNM stage of tumor. The results suggest that resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy induced by HIF-1α should be considered in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.