Expression levels and clinical significance of human aspartic acid β-hydroxylase and CD44V6 in early lung adenocarcinoma tissues

Objective To observe the expression levels of human aspartic acid β-hydroxylase (ASPH) and CD44V6 in early lung adenocarcinoma tissues, and analyze their relationships with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis.

Methods A total of 120 cancer tissue samples from patients with surgical treatment for early lung adenocarcinoma and 3-year follow-up in the Yantai Yeda Hospital from October 2016 to June 2022 were selected, and 30 matched adjacent tissue samples from patients with early lung adenocarcinoma were selected as controls based on the degree of tissue differentiation. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expressions of ASPH and CD44V6 in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues.

Results The positive rates of ASPH and CD44V6 in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent tissues (P < 0.05). The positive expression rates of ASPH in early lung adenocarcinoma patients with stage ⅠB and low differentiation were significantly higher than those in patients with stage ⅠA and medium to high differentiation (P < 0.05). The positive expression rates of CD44V6 in early lung adenocarcinoma patients with age ≥ 60 years, clinical stage ⅠB and low differentiation were significantly higher than those in patients with age < 60 years, clinical stage Ⅰ A and medium to high differentiation (P < 0.05). The Somers'd test showed that the clinical stage and degree of differentiation were positively correlated with the expression of ASPH (d>0, P < 0.05); age, clinical stage and degree of differentiation were positively correlated with the expression of CD44V6 (d>0, P < 0.05). The Phi coefficient of the Chi square test showed that the expression of ASPH was positively correlated with expression of CD44V6 in early lung adenocarcinoma (Phi=0.906, P < 0.05).The Logistic regression analysis showed that the positive expressions of ASPH and CD44V6 were risk factors for poor prognosis in early lung adenocarcinoma patients (OR>1, P < 0.05). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the sensitivities of ASPH and CD44V6 in predicting the prognosis of early lung adenocarcinoma patients were 0.960 and 0.920 respectively, and the specificities were 0.284 and 0.242 respectively.

Conclusion The positive expression rates of ASPH and CD44V6 are high in early lung adenocarcinoma tissues; age, clinical stage and degree of differentiation are related with positive expression of CD44V6, while clinical stage and degree of differentiation are related with positive expression of ASPH; the expressions of ASPH and CD44V6 are related to the prognosis of early lung adenocarcinoma patients.