Diagnostic Investigation of BIRC6 and SIRT1 Protein Expression Level As Potential Prognostic Biomarkers in Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background/aim: Lung cancer is the major contributor to overall cancer-related mortality. Biomarkers are important in early detection and prognosis, in addition to developing treatment regimes, which may improve the patient survival rates. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate the prognostic and diagnostic value of SIRT1/BIRC6 expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: The data on the prognostic impact of SIRT1/BIRC6 in NSCLC were collected from September 11, 2006 to July 10, 2014. Immunoexpressions and real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR of SIRT1/BIRC6 were analyzed and the outcomes were correlated with clinicopathological features and patient survivals.

Results: MRNA level of SIRT1 was upregulated in NSCLC tissues as compared to normal tissues (3.18 ± 0.77 vs. 1.27 ± 0.62; P = .001). BIRC6 mRNA was upregulated in cancer tissues when compared with normal tissues (4.13 ± 0.91 vs. 1.51 ± 0.72; P = .001). SIRT1 protein was overexpressed in 27 patients (67.5%), while normal tissues showed weak or negative staining to SIRT1 (P = .002). Furthermore, these findings suggested that advanced pathological T stage, and poor differentiation were significantly associated with expression of SIRT1 (P < .05). Increased expression of BIRC6 was detected in 75% of patients, while weak or negative expression were detected in normal tissues (P = .001). Furthermore, increased expression of BIRC6 was linked to advanced pathological T stage, poor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis (P < .05).

Conclusions: SIRT1 and BIRC6 may be linked to tumor progression and could be useful for the treatment of NSCLC.