Platinum-based chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the chemotherapy often results in the development of chemoresistance. The present study aimed to explore the prognostic implications of survivin and lung resistance protein (LRP) in advanced NSCLC treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Tumor samples were collected from 61 hospitalized patients with stage IIIB-IV NSCLC that underwent platinum-based chemotherapy. All patient samples were collected in the Oncology Department of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University between January 2006 and January 2011. Cytoplasmic survivin and LRP expression were evaluated using immunohistochemistry. The expression of LRP and survivin reached 77% (47/61) and 76% (45/61), respectively. Positive expression of survivin was associated with a lower median progression-free survival (PFS) time (4 vs. 9 months; P=0.038) and a lower median overall survival (OS) time compared with the absence of survivin expression (9 vs. 16 months; P=0.039). Patients with LRP and survivin expression (n=41) demonstrated a median PFS time of 4 months. However, patients with either LRP or survivin expression (n=10) demonstrated a median PFS time of 8 months, which is similar to the median PFS time of the 10 patients with no expression of LRP and survivin (9 months; P=0.022). Either the expression of survivin or the combined expression of LRP and survivin is associated with a poor prognosis in advanced NSCLC treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.
Keywords: drug resistance; lung resistance protein; non-small cell lung cancer; platinum; prognosis; survivin.