BACKGROUNDTo investigate immunoexpression of P14ARF protein in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to evaluate the prognostic significance.

METHODSThirty-nine tumor specimens were immunohistochemically examined with FL-132 antibody against P14ARF protein.

RESULTSP14 nuclei immunoexpression was found in 25 tumor specimens (64.1%). The patients in stage I and II had a much higher P14 expression rate than the patients in stage III and IV [78.0%(18/23) vs 43.8%(7/16) P =0.043]. The P14 expression rate in patients with and without metastasis was 78.3%(18/23) and 43.8%(7/16) respectively (P=0.043). The mean survival time of patients without P14-immunopositive staining was significantly shorter than that of patients with P14-immunopositive staining (17 months vs 45 months, P=0.023 5).

CONCLUSIONSPatients with the expression of P14ARF protein have a better prognosis. Detection of P14ARF protein in lung cancer tissues may be helpful to predict the prognosis of NSCLC.