CKAP2 overexpression correlates with worse overall survival in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Adenocarcinoma is a non-small-cell lung cancer that is common cancer in both genders, and has poor clinical outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the role of cytoskeleton-associated protein 2 (CKAP2), its prognostic significance, and the relationship between CKAP2 expression and lung adenocarcinoma driver genes.

Methods: The expression of CKAP2 was studied by immunohistochemical staining of specimens from 88 patients with lung adenocarcinoma. The correlation between clinicopathological features and CKAP2 expression was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the prognostic value of CKAP2 in terms of overall survival (OS). The correlation between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement, and CKAP2 expression was analyzed. All histological samples were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization for EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements.

Results: Eighty-eight patients with positive CKAP2 expression were observed in this study. Patients with high levels of CKAP2 expression were associated with OS (P = .021). Multivariate Cox regression analysis disclosed that positive CKAP2 expression (P = .043) could independently predict unfavorable OS. In addition, CKAP2 expression was not associated with EGFR mutation (P = .219) and ALK rearrangement (P = .389) in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Conclusion: High expression of CKAP2 may serve as a marker of poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma.