Overexpression of KIAA0101 predicts poor prognosis in primary lung cancer patients

High expression of KIAA0101 (p15PAF/OEATC-1) which contains a proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-binding motif, a key factor in DNA repair and/or apoptosis and cell cycle regulation, has been observed in a variety of human malignancies. The aim of this study was to observe the expression of KIAA0101 in human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), explore its clinicopathological significance and evaluate KIAA0101 expression as a potential prognostic marker. KIAA0101 transcript was found to be overexpressed in the great majority of lung cancers by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. A total of 357 NSCLCs were analyzed immunohistochemically on tissue microarrays. High-level KIAA0101 expression was observed in 33.9% (121 of 357 cases), and correlated with male gender (P < 0.0001), tumor progression (pT status) (P = 0.0008), lymph node metastasis (pN status) (P = 0.0003), non-adenocarcinoma histological classification (P < 0.0001), and smoking history (P < 0.0001), but not with patient age or pleural invasion. Patients with tumors displaying high-level KIAA0101 expression showed significantly shorter survival (P < 0.0001, log-rank test). Similarly, gender, pT status, pN status, pleural invasion, histological classification, and smoking history were significant prognostic markers in univariate Cox survival analysis. Importantly, high-level KIAA0101 expression was also identified as an independent prognostic factor by multivariate analysis (P = 0.0320). These results provide additional information for determining postoperative adjuvant treatment of NSCLC.