Survivin gene expression in early-stage XXXX .

@entity1 @entity5 @entity957 @entity1149 @entity2 @entity189 @entity1544
Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein, overexpressed in most @entity1 @entity5 and implicated in mitosis regulation and preservation of cell viability. In order to investigate the prevalence and clinical significance of survivin in early-stage @entity1149 ( @entity1149 ), survivin mRNA levels and protein expression were evaluated, using quantitative real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively, in a series of 83 @entity1 with stage I (IA and IB) surgically resected @entity1149 . Detectable survivin mRNA levels could be demonstrated in all non-neoplastic lung tissue samples and in the @entity5 analysed. Survivin mRNA levels were elevated in 80 @entity189 (96%) compared to normal lung (p = 0.008). Among all @entity5 , survivin transcripts were present at a higher level in @entity957 (p = 0.0022). Cytoplasmic and nuclear immunoreactivity was found in 70% and 80% of @entity5 , respectively and both were present in 54%. Cytoplasmic immunoreactivity correlated with @entity5 stage (p = 0.019). Survivin expression levels did not correlate with @entity1 survival. In one specimen, cytoplasmic and focal nuclear immunostaining was observed in @entity1544 . These results document that survivin overexpression is almost always present in early-stage @entity1149 , suggesting that this protein may play a role in lung tumourigenesis. This ubiquitous expression makes survivin an appealing new target for novel therapies in @entity2 . In addition, this study also documents that survivin overexpression could be exploited for diagnostic purposes and that quantitative real-time RT-PCR can be a useful tool for evaluating survivin activation in @entity1149 .
