ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To detect the expression of peptidylprolyl cis/trans isomerase NIMA-interacting l (pin1 mRNA) in the circulation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to investigate the effect of ligating pulmonary vein first or ligating pulmonary artery first during operation on haematogenous dissemination of cancer cells.@*METHODS@#Twenty-six consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent surgical resection with curative intention were randomly assigned into pulmonary artery first-ligation group (PA group) and pulmonary vein first-ligation group (PV group). Blood samples were collected just before and 7 days after the operation. During the lobectomy, blood samples of the proximal part and distal part of the pulmonary vein when it was ligated were collected. Another 10 patients with benign lung disease served as control subjects undergoing surgical resection, and 10 healthy persons served as negative controls. All blood samples were subjected to real-time RT-PCR with pin1 mRNA as the marker.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the benign lung disease and healthy persons, pin1 mRNA in NSCLC was overexpressed (1.45 to approximately 29.86 vs.0.83 to approximately 1.26 vs 1, P0.05; 16.84+/-2.36 vs.13.36+/-1.78, P>0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#pin1 mRNA was overexpressed in the circulation of NSCLC. Ligation of pulmonary vein before the ligation of the pulmonary artery may decrease the expression of pin1 mRNA in the circulation, which can prevent the release of tumor cells into the bloodstream.