SATB1 Level Correlates with Ki-67 Expression and Is a Positive Prognostic Factor in Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs), mainly adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), account for about 80% of all lung cancer cases. One of the proteins involved in NSCLC progression may be special AT-rich binding protein 1 (SATB1), a potent transcriptional regulator, able to control the expression of whole sets of genes simultaneously. SATB1 has been found to be associated with aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in numerous malignancies, including breast, colon, ovary and prostate cancer. However, its role in NSCLC is still not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of SATB1 protein and mRNA in NSCLC and non-malignant lung tissue (NMLT) samples, as well as to determine possible relationships of SATB1 expression with both the expression of Ki-67 and the clinicopathological data of the patients.

The study was performed on 277 NSCLC (158 AC, 119 LSCC) and 20 NMLT samples.

We observed increased SATB1 immunoreactivity in NSCLC when compared to NMLT, and in LSCC when compared to AC cases. We also noted that an elevated SATB1 immunoreactivity was associated with a poor degree of AC differentiation, whereas in LSCC, an inverse relationship was observed. Our analyses revealed that the expression of SATB1 positively correlated with Ki-67 index in NSCLC and LSCC, but not in AC cases. Finally, we found that high SATB1 expression was associated with a better overall survival of patients with NSCLC.

SATB1 plays diverse roles in different NSCLC subtypes, and its expression may have a prognostic significance for patients with these tumours.