Prognostic Significance of 14-3-3γ Overexpression in Advanced NSCLC

Lung cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in males globally (Jemal et al., 2011). Approximately 85% of lung cancer cases are non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) (Herbst et al., 2008). Most lung cancer patients are of advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, resulting in a poor outcome with 5-year relative survival being less than 14% (Youlden et al., 2008). Despite advances in surgical treatment and chemotherapy, there has been little improvement in survival over the past 30 years (Siegel et al., 2012). Therefore, identification of a prognostic biomarker will help identify patients with poor outcome, who may need further treatments. In addition, the identified marker may be a potential target for drug development. 14-3-3 proteins are a family of highly conserved proteins, consisting of at least seven isoforms in mammalian cells, including β, ε, γ, η, σ, τ/θ, and ξ. These proteins are spontaneously self-assembled as homoor