ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the expression of neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the paracancerous normal lung tissues, and to investigate the association of NRP-1 expression with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of NSCLC patients. Methods: Ninety-two patients with NSCLC who underwent complete resection and pathological diagnosis from June 2009 to June 2012 in Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University were collected. The expression of NRP-1 in 92 NSCLC tissues and 88 paracancerous lung tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. All patients were followed up by telephone after operation, the last followed-up time was June 2016. The correlations of NRP-1 expression with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of NSCLC patients were analyzed. Results: The high expression rate of NRP-1 in NSCLC was significantly higher than that in paracancerous normal lung tissues (P = 0.004). The expression of NRP-1 was significantly associated with tumor maximum diameter, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage and pathological grade (all P 0.05). The overall survival time of NSCLC patients with NRP-1 high expression was significantly shorter than that of patients with NRP-1 low expression (P < 0.001). COX multivariate regression analysis indicated that NRP1 expression and TNM stage were independent prognostic markers for NSCLC patients (both P < 0.05). Conclusion: The high expression of NRP-1 is associated with the poor clinicopathological characteristics and poor prognosis of NSCLC. NRP-1 may be a promising prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for NSCLC patients (both P < 0.05).