Correlation between CXCR4, CXCR5 and CCR7 expression and survival outcomes in patients with clinical T1N0M0 non‐small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer‐related death. Even if early detection and treatment have proven to be effective, the survival outcomes are still poor. METHODS: Tissue samples and clinicopathological data of 244 patients with clinical T1N0M0 NSCLC were collected. We investigated CXCR4, CXCR5 and CCR7 expression levels using the immunohistochemical method and analyzed their correlations with clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes. RESULTS: Elevated expression levels of CXCR4, CXCR5 and CCR7 were found in tumor tissues (P < 0.001). The expression levels were remarkably different in histological type (CXCR4, P = 0.032; CXCR5, P < 0.001; CCR7, P < 0.001) and LVI (CXCR4, P = 0.017; CXCR5, P = 0.030; CCR7, P < 0.001). In addition, CXCR4 and CXCR5 expression were significantly different in tumor differentiation (CXCR4, P < 0.001; CXCR5, P < 0.001). Survival analysis showed that patients with positive CXCR4 expression had a significantly lower five‐year DFS (P = 0.007) and a lower five‐year OS (P = 0.010). Patients in the CXCR5 positive group had a significantly lower five‐year DFS (P = 0.038) and a lower five‐year OS (P = 0.220), which were statistically insignificant. However, five‐year DFS and five‐year OS of patients with positive CCR7 expression were significantly higher (DFS: P < 0.001; OS: P < 0.001). CXCR5 and CCR7 expression were found to be independent prognostic factors through multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Expression levels of CXCR4, CXCR5 and CCR7 were significantly higher in tumor tissues, and expression of CXCR5 and CCR7 were independent prognostic factors for survival. Moreover, all three chemokines were correlated to the survival outcomes of patients with clinical T1N0M0 NSCLC, providing potential prognosticators and therapy targets for lung cancer treatment.