Expression of Hypoxia-inducible Factor Prolyl Hydroxylase 3 HIFPH3 in Human Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and Its Correlation with Prognosis

Purpose: To investigate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase 3 (HIFPH3) in non-smallcell lung cancer (NSCLC) and explore the correlation of HIFPH3 expression with lymph node metastasis andmicrovessel density (MVD). Materials and
Methods: A total of 73 cases of NSCLC specimens, 24 cases of paracanceroustissues, and 20 normal pulmonary tissues were collected for HIFPH3 and CD31 immunohistochmical(IHC) study. Microvessel density (MVD) of the NSCLC tissues was also determined based on the expression ofCD31.
Results: The expression of HIFPH3 in carcinoma tissue was statistically higher than para-cancerous andnormal pulmonary tissues (χ2=48.806, p<0.05). Compared withthe negative lymph node metastasis group, thelymph node metastasis group showed significantly higher HIFPH3 expression (χ2=6.300, p<0.05). The strongHIFPH3+group displayed a significantly higher MVD than weak HIFPH3+ and HIFPH3- groups (p<0.05). Nodifferences in positive HIFPH3 expression were noted regarding the tumor diameter, age, smoking status, genderof NSCLC patients, tumor size, histopathology, or differentiation.
Conclusions: HIFPH3 expression in humanNSCLC lesions is significantly higher than that in para-cancerous and normal lung tissues and is positivelyassociated with lymph node metastasis and MVD.