Single nucleotide polymorphisms of the NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathway genes predict lung cancer prognosis in a Chinese Han population

Inflammation contributes to human carcinogenesis and cancer progression. This study selected and analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathway genes for associations with prognosis in 1,165 lung cancer patients from a Chinese Han population. The data showed that eight SNPs (i.e., rs10836, rs3732131, rs3732133, rs4072391, rs2273650, rs1053023, rs3744483, and rs28372683) can be grouped into low-, medium-, and high-risk genotypes based on survival data. The median overall survival time (MST) of this cohort of patients was 24.6 months, whereas the MST of patients with low-risk genotypes reached 79.7 months; MST of patients with the medium-risk genotypes was 25.5 months, and those with high-risk genotypes was 22.7 months. Overall survival was statistically different for sex (P = 0.004), age (P = 0.010), histological types (P = 0.035), tumor stage (P < 0.001), tumor size (P < 0.001), surgery (P < 0.001), chemoradiotherapy (P = 0.007), and Karnofsky score (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis and the data from the current study demonstrated that sex, tumor stage and size, surgery, chemoradiotherapy, and the aforementioned eight SNPs were all independent predictors for overall survival of lung cancer patients.