Sphingosine kinase-1 predicts overall survival outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with carboplatin and navelbine

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid metabolite associated with cancer cell proliferation, survival, migration and regulation of tumor angiogenesis in various cellular and animal models. Sphingosine kinase-1 (SphK1) and S1P lyase are the main enzymes that respectively control the synthesis and degradation of S1P. The present study analyzed the prognostic and predictive value of SphK1 and S1P lyase expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), treated with either surgery alone or in combination with adjuvant carboplatin and navelbine. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 176 patients with NSCLC were stained immunohistochemically using antibodies against SphK1 and S1P lyase, and their expression was correlated with all available clinicopathological factors. Increased expression of SphK1 was significantly associated with shorter overall and disease free survival in patients treated with adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy. No prognostic relevance for S1P lyase expression was observed. Collectively, the results suggest that the immunohistochemical detection of SphK1 may be a promising predictive marker in NSCLC patients treated with adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy.