High Expression of PHGDH Predicts Poor Prognosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Jinhong Zhu; Jianqun Ma; Xudong Wang; Tianjiao Ma; Shu Zhang; Wei Wang; Xiaoyu Zhou; Jiahai Shi

doi:10.1016/j.tranon.2016.08.003

High Expression of PHGDH Predicts Poor Prognosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Transl Oncol. 2016 Dec;9(6):592-599. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2016.08.003.

Authors

Jinhong Zhu¹, Jianqun Ma², Xudong Wang³, Tianjiao Ma⁴, Shu Zhang⁵, Wei Wang⁵, Xiaoyu Zhou⁶, Jiahai Shi⁷

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
³ Department of Thoracic Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
⁶ Department of Pulmonology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, City, China. Electronic address: z730303@163.com.
⁷ Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, City, China. Electronic address: happysjh167@163.com.

Abstract

Tumors have exceptionally high demands for energy and anabolism because of their rapid growth. The de novo serine synthesis pathway initiated by phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) has been recognized as a hallmark of metabolic adaption in carcinogenesis. The oncogenic role and prognostic value of PHGDH have been investigated in multiple cancer types, including breast cancer, melanoma, cervical cancer, and colon cancer. Due to the importance of PHGDH in cancer, we attempted to determine the clinical significance of PHGDH in 319 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We evaluated the mRNA and protein expression levels of PHGDH gene, using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and tissue array-based immunohistochemistry, respectively. Significantly increased PHGDH expression in mRNA and protein levels was identified in tumor tissues versus matched adjacent nontumor tissues. More interestingly, immunohistochemical expression of PHGDH was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P=.021) and TNM stage (P=.016). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that NSCLC patients with low levels of PHGDH outperformed patients with high levels of PHGDH regarding 5-year overall survival. Significantly longer survival in the former suggested the prognostic implication of PHGDH in NSCLC. Multivariate survival analysis using Cox regression model demonstrated that high PHGDH levels and advanced TNM stage (III+IV) were independent predictors of prognosis in NSCLC. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis confirmed the increase in PHGDH transcripts (data from The Cancer Genome Atlas) and its prognostic value (Kaplan-Meier plotter) in NSCLC. In conclusion, this study suggested the clinical implication of PHGDH in NSCLC. PHGDH may be a promising therapeutic target in NSCLC.