AKIP1 expression in tumor tissue as a new biomarker for disease monitoring and prognosis in non‐small cell lung cancer: Results of a retrospective study

BACKGROUND: A‐kinase–interacting protein 1 (AKIP1) has been reported as an oncogenetic factor in multiple cancers; however, no study has reported its role in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) yet. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of AKIP1, and its correlation with tumor characteristics as well as prognosis in patients with NSCLC. METHODS: Four hundred and ninety patients with NSCLC who underwent resection were reviewed, and baseline clinical data were collected. AKIP1 expression in tumor tissue/paired adjacent tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. Disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated. RESULTS: A‐kinase–interacting protein 1 expression was elevated in tumor tissue compared with paired adjacent tissue (P < .001), and high AKIP1 tumor tissue expression was correlated with poor pathological differentiation (P < .001), tumor size >5 cm (P = .001), lymph node metastasis (P = .016), higher TNM stages (P < .001), and abnormal CEA level (>5 ng/mL) (P = .035). DFS was worse in patients with tumor tissue AKIP1 high expression compared with patients who had AKIP1 low expression in total patients (P < .001), TNM stage I (P < .001) and TNM stage III (P < .001) patients. And the OS was also decreased in patients with AKIP1 high expression in total patients (P < .001), TNM stage I patients (P = .001) and TNM stage III patients (P = .004). Moreover, multivariate Cox's proportional hazards regression model analysis revealed that AKIP1 high expression was an independent predictive factor for worse DFS (P < .001) and OS (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Tumor tissue AKIP1 expression may have the potential to be a biomarker assisting in disease monitoring and prognosis in NSCLC.