Diagnosis of occult metastasis to mediastinal lymph nodes in patients with NSCLC: detection of MUC1 mRNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) / 中国肺癌杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>To evaluate the diagnostic method of occult metastasis to mediastinal lymph nodes (MLNs) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The mRNA expression of mucin 1(MUC1) gene, an epithelial-tissue-specific gene, was detected in dissected mediastinal lymph nodes by RT-PCR assay. Seventy-eight MLNs which had no malignant evidence on routine histopathologic examination were assessed in 19 patients with stage pN0-1 disease. Five regional lymph nodes from 5 patients with benign pulmonary diseases and 5 MLNs proved malignant by histopathology from 5 patients with NSCLC were also studied as negative and positive control respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mRNA of MUC1 was not detected in any specimen of negative control group, whereas the mRNA was detected in all MLNs of positive control group. The mRNA in 6 out of 78 MLNs from 19 patients with pN0-1 disease was also detected, and occult metastasis was diagnosed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Detection of MUC1 mRNA expression might be helpful to diagnose occult metastasis in MLN in patients with lung cancer, and RT-PCR is superior to routine histopathologic examination in staging NSCLC.</p>