Association between nuclear expression of retinoic acid receptor alpha and beta and clinicopathological features and prognosis of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Transcription factors such as retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα) and beta (RARβ) and Yin Yang 1 (YY1) are associated with the progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In particular, a lack of RARβ expression is associated with NSCLC development. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of RARα, RARβ and YY1 and their relationship with prognosis in patients with advanced NSCLC.
METHODS: The expression of RARα, RARβ and YY1 was assessed by immunohistochemistry and quantitative computerized image software.
RESULTS: Eighty-five patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy were included in the analysis. The mean and standard deviation of the nuclear expression of RARα, RARβ and YY1 were 184.5 ± 124.4, 18 ± 27 and 16.6 ± 20.5, respectively. The nuclear expression of RARβ was associated with the nuclear expression of YY1 (R 2 = 0.28; p value < 0.0001). Patients with high nuclear expression of YY1 were likely to be non-smokers (61.9 vs 40.5 %). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.9 months (3.48-8.28). Low expression of RARα was independently associated with worse PFS following chemotherapy (10.3 vs 5.46 months p = 0.040). Median overall survival (OS) was 15.6 months (4.5-26.7), and lower nuclear expression of RARβ was independently associated with shorter OS (27.5 vs 8.7 months; p = 0.037).
CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the loss of RARs is associated with a worse prognosis and these receptors could be a potential molecular target for NSCLC.