Expression of EGFR Is Closely Related to Reduced 3-Year Survival Rate in Chinese Female NSCLC

BACKGROUND Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 80% of lung carcinoma cases, which becomes more and more important in the field of lung carcinoma as well as primary lung carcinoma in females. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed the medical history of 62 female NSCLC patients. Immunohistochemistry was used to observe and compare the expression of EGFR. The chi-square test was conducted to analyze associations between EGFR expression and the different variables. The cumulative survival rate was determined by the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. The prognosis of female patients with NSCLC was examined by using a multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model. RESULTS The expression proportion of EGFR in Chinese female NSCLC patients was 70.97%, and it was remarkably higher in adenocarcinoma than in squamous cell carcinoma and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. A positive correlation was observed between EGFR expression and tumor-node metastasis staging or lymph node metastasis. The Cox proportional risk model analysis showed a correlation between postoperative survival time of the patients and pathology of the tumor type and lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS Expression of EGFR was closely related to pathology of the tumor type, tumor-node metastasis staging, and lymph node metastasis, which could be used as a promising indicator of NSCLC in Chinese female patients.