Clinicopathologic significance of Aurora kinase A expression in non-small cell lung cancer

Background and aim: Aurora kinase A (AURKA) is a member of the protein serine/threonine kinase family that plays critical roles in cell mitosis and in tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of AURKA in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and analyze the correlation between AURKA expression and clinicopathological factors. Methods: One hundred and twenty patients with NSCLC, including 56 with squamous cell carcinoma and 64 patients with adenocarcinoma who underwent operations, were analyzed. Immunostaining for AURKA was performed in a tissue microarray block. The clinicopathologic parameters of these patients were reviewed and analyzed for correlations with AURKA expression. Results: AURKA expression was positive in 66 patients (55.0%) and negative in 54 patients (45.0%). The correlation between AURKA expression and histologic grade was statistically significant (P= 0.013). Subset analysis revealed that AURKA expression was significantly associated with histologic grade in squamous cell carcinoma (P= 0.007), not in adenocarcinoma (P= 0.499). No association was found between AURKA expression and other clinicopathological parameters. Analysis of survival failed to reveal statistically significant differences between positive and negative groups in both squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of lung. Conclusions: AURKA expression was associated with the histologic grade of squamous cell carcinoma of lung, but no significant effect on overall survival.