Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase 3 HIFPH3 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its correlation with prognosis.

PURPOSE To investigate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase 3 (HIFPH3) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and explore the correlation of HIFPH3 expression with lymph node metastasis and microvessel density (MVD). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 73 cases of NSCLC specimens, 24 cases of para- cancerous tissues, and 20 normal pulmonary tissues were collected for HIFPH3 and CD31 immunohistochmical (IHC) study. Microvessel density (MVD) of the NSCLC tissues was also determined based on the expression of CD31. RESULTS The expression of HIFPH3 in carcinoma tissue was statistically higher than para-cancerous and normal pulmonary tissues (χ2=48.806, p<0.05). Compared withthe negative lymph node metastasis group, the lymph node metastasis group showed significantly higher HIFPH3 expression (χ2=6.300, p<0.05). The strong HIFPH3+group displayed a significantly higher MVD than weak HIFPH3+ and HIFPH3- groups (p<0.05). No differences in positive HIFPH3 expression were noted regarding the tumor diameter, age, smoking status, gender of NSCLC patients, tumor size, histopathology, or differentiation. CONCLUSIONS HIFPH3 expression in human NSCLC lesions is significantly higher than that in para-cancerous and normal lung tissues and is positively associated with lymph node metastasis and MVD.