Prognostic Significance of Carbonic Anhydrase IX Overexpression in Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients after Neoadjuvant Treatment.

Background: To assess the prognostic importance of carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX), a hypoxic biomarker, after neoadjuvant treatment in Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Methods: Tissue CA IX expression was examined after surgical resection in 77 patients who had undergone neoadjuvant treatment. The effects of CA IX overexpression and other clinical factors on disease-free survival and overall survival were investigated. Results: In multivariate analysis, number of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) courses and gender emerged as significant independent predictors for disease-free survival, where administration of 2-3 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) (HR, 3.2 [95% CI 1.3-7.6], p = 0.009) and female gender were associated with poor survival (HR, 3.2 [95% CI 1.3-7.7], p = 0.009). The only significant independent predictor for overall survival was recurrence (HR, 5.6 [95% CI 2.4-12.8], p < 0.001). On the other hand, CA IX overexpression was not associated with disease free survival (p = 0.560) or overall survival (p = 0.799). Discussion: Our results do not suggest a prognostic role for CA IX overexpression in stage III NSCLC patients who received neoadjuvant treatment.