High TBX2 expression predicts poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

Deregulated expression of T-box2 (TBX2) has been implicated in malignancies. However, the expression pattern and the role of TBX2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical value of TBX2 in patients with NSCLC. We examined TBX2 expression in 40 NSCLC tissues and matched adjacent noncancerous tissues by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. Furthermore, the TBX2 protein expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 416 NSCLC samples. Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression model were used to evaluate the prognostic value of TBX2 expression in NSCLC for disease survival. The expression of TBX2 was significantly elevated in NSCLC tissues as compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues (P<0.001). The high expression of TBX2 in NSCLC was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that high expression of TBX2 correlated with poor prognosis of NSCLC patients (P<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that TBX2 expression was an independent prognostic marker for overall survival of NSCLC patients (HR=2.21, 95%CI=1.349-3.905, P=0.0015). Our results suggest that high TBX2 expression is associated with poor prognosis of NSCLC patients, and TBX2 may be a prognostic biomarker for NSCLC.