Serum level of osteopontin as a prognostic factor in patients who underwent surgical resection for non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: OPN is a multifunctional glycophosphoprotein originally described as a secreted protein from malignant epithelial cells. This study focused on the clinical significance of preoperative serum level of OPN in NSCLC patients who underwent a complete resection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The serum OPN level was assayed in 244 patients who underwent a complete resection of NSCLC by commercially available sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The patients were considered as a higher group, when the serum OPN levels exceeded 81.3 ng/mL.
RESULTS: The patients included 166 male and 78 female subjects. The histologic types included 172 adenocarcinomas, 49 squamous cell carcinomas, and 23 other types of carcinoma. The serum level of OPN in male patients (92.6 ng/mL) was significantly higher than that of female patients (76.9 ng/mL). The OPN level of squamous cell carcinoma was significantly higher than that of adenocarcinoma. The OPN level was significantly elevated in patients with the pleural invasion or microvascular invasion than those without the invasion. The 5-year survival rate after surgery in the lower OPN group (82.0%) was a significant favorable prognosis than that in the higher OPN group (63.7%) (P < .0001). The 5-year survival rates in the lower OPN group at stage I NSCLC (88.1%) was significantly better than that in the higher OPN group (80.5%) (P = .0321).
CONCLUSION: The preoperative serum OPN level was a useful predictor of an unfavorable prognosis, and it was found to be an independent prognostic determinant of outcome in patients who underwent surgery for NSCLC.