Clinical significance of RUNX2 expression in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer: a 5-year follow-up study

This study was designed to evaluate expression and prognostic significance of runt-related transcription factor (RUNX)-2 in human nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). RUNX2 expression was examined at mRNA and protein levels by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot in NSCLC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. In addition, RUNX2 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 121 clinicopathologically characterized NSCLC cases. The relationship between the expression of RUNX2 and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis was statistically analyzed. Both qRT-PCR and Western blot demonstrated that RUNX2 mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in NSCLC tissues compared to the adjacent normal tissues from the same individual. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that RUNX2 expression was significantly correlated with tumor size, tumor stage, and lymph node metastasis. Higher RUNX2 expression was associated with shorter postoperative survival time of NSCLC patients by Kaplan–Meier method and was found to be an independent risk factor that influences the postoperative survival time of NSCLC patients by Cox regression analysis. In conclusion, these data showed that RUNX2 may play an important role in NSCLC tumorigenesis, and RUNX2 might serve as a novel prognostic marker in NSCLC.