The assessment of correlation and prognosis among (18)F-FDG uptake parameters, Glut1, pStat1 and pStat3 in surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer patients

INTRODUCTION: To assess the correlation among (18)F-FDG uptake, Glut1, pStat1 and pStat3, and to investigate the relationship between the prognosis and (18)F-FDG uptake and these molecular markers in surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. RESULTS: Knockdown of Glut1 led to a significant increase in pStat1 expression. Glut1 expression positively correlated with the SUVmax, SUVmean, and TLG significantly (P<0.001). pStat3 expression negatively correlated with all PET parameters significantly (P<0.001). pStat1 had positive weak correlations with the SUVmax and SUVmean. All PET parameters and Glut1 were significantly associated with DFS (P<0.05). TLG, MTV, Glut1 and pStat1 were significantly associated with OS (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: pStat3 and Glut1 may be associated with (18)F-FDG uptake mechanism. TLG, MTV, and Glut1 may be independent prognostic factors. METHODS: The SUVmax, SUVmean, MTV and TLG of primary lesions were calculated in 140 patients. The expressions of Glut1 and Stat pathway proteins in NSCLC cell lines were examined by immune blots. Excised tumor tissue was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. OS and DFS were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. The difference in survival between subgroups was analyzed by log-rank test. The prognostic significance of clinicopathological, molecular and PET parameters was assessed by Cox proportional hazard regression analysis.