Cytokeratin 7 and thyroid transcription factor - 1 levels in patients with lung cancer complicated with superior vena cava syndrome and their correlation with clinicopathological characteristics.

Purpose: This study aimed to detect the levels of cytokeratin 7 (CK7) and thyroid transcription factor -1(TTF-1) in serum of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) complicated with superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS), and to explore their prognosis and relationship and correlation with pathological characteristics. Methods: 68 patients with NSCLC complicated with SVCS treated in Shaoxing Second Hospital from July 2014 to May 2018 comprised the experimental group, 60 healthy persons comprised the control group, and 60 patients with lung cancer comprised the lung cancer group. The levels of CK7 and TTF-1 in the three groups were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the differences were compared. The relationship between the expression levels of CK7 and TTF-1 and clinicopathological characteristics of patients, the correlation between CK7 and TTF-1 in lung cancer patients complicated with SVCS, and their 3-year survival rate were analyzed. Results: CK7 and TTF-1 levels in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p <0.05). The levels in the lung cancer group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05). In the experimental group, the expression of CK7 and TTF-1 was not related to gender, age, weight, histological classification and tumor size (p>0.05)). CK7 expression was positively correlated with TTF-1 expression in lung cancer patients (p<0.001). The 3-year survival rate in the CK7 and TTF-1 high expression group was significantly lower than that in the low expression group (p <0.05). Conclusion: The expressions of CK7 and TTF-1 are increased in patients with lung cancer complicated with SVCS, and are related to TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and grade of differentiation. The high expressions of CK7 and TTF-1 in serum of patients are expected to be potential prognostic indicators for lung cancer complicated with SVCS.