ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the diagnostic value and clinical significance of phosphorylated signal transducer and activa-tor of transcription 3(pSTAT3)in malignant pleural effusion(MPE)caused by lung adenocarcinoma.Methods 47 pleural effusion samples were collected and detected by using liquid-based cytologic test (LCT).Furthermore,the expression of pSTAT3 was detec-ted by using the method of immunocytochemistry in all of the specimens.Results Among the 47 cases of pleural effusion,40 cases of MPE were caused by lung adenocarcinoma and 7 cases were benign pleural effusion,which were confirmed by clinical manifesta-tion,biopsy and imaging data.The positive expression rate of pSTAT3 was 80.0%(32/40)in MPE caused by lung adenocarcino-ma,significantly higher than benign group(P <0.05).13 cases of MPE caused by lung adenocarcinoma and 7 cases of benign pleural effusion were diagnosed with liquid-based cytologic test alone.The other 27 cases were undetermined and needed to be differentiate between adenocarcinoma and atypical mesothelial cells.However,32 cases of lung adenocarcinoma and 7 cases could be clearly diag-nosed if liquid-based cytologic test was used combined with immunocytochemistry detection of pSTAT3 expression.Only 8 cases were undetermined.Diagnosis of grey area was significantly narrowed.There was significant statistical significance between the two methods(P <0.05).Conclusion High expression of pSTAT3 is related to the MPE caused by lung adenocarcinoma.Detection of pSTAT3 expression can be used as a new method in the diagnosis of MPE caused by lung adenocarcinoma.pSTAT3 may play an important role in the development of the MPE.