EXPRESSION OF SMALL HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN αB-CRYSTALLIN IN NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER

alpha B-crystallin, a small heat shock protein, recently became of major interest because of its differential expression during tumorigenesis and metastasis in various epithelial tumours. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of alpha B-crystallin and its biologic significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on a tissue microarray slide containing samples from 146 NSCLC patients who were operated between 2004 and 2005. Cytoplasmic and nuclear staining were detected. Squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas had a distinctive profile of expression. The cytoplasmic staining of the tumours, however, related to the local invasion - T-factor (p = 0.044). The nuclear staining was more commonly detected in advanced stages, and was a biomarker of an aggressive tumour biology (p = 0.042). alpha B-crystallin plays an essential role in NSCLC biology. It has a distinctive profile of expression in the two major histologic subtypes - squamous cell cancers and adenocarcinomas. Its nuclear staining is associated with aggressive tumour behaviour.