Analysis of the RNA helicase A gene in human lung cancer.

In this study we investigated the RNA helicase A (RHA) gene localized on chromosome 1q25 in 15 lung cancer cell lines, 54 primary carcinomas, bronchial epithelial cells and normal lung. Both RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR showed that RHA is over-expressed in tumour samples compared to normal lung tissues (p=0.01). There was a tendency for higher expression levels in small cell lung cancer compared to non-small cell carcinomas. Over-expression of Y-162 correlated with high grade tumours (p=0.023). However, there was no correlation with tumour stage and survival. Our observations are compatible with the role of RHA in lung cancer development.