Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) plays a role in
integrin signaling-mediated cell-extracellular matrix interactions and is involved in signal transduction pathways to control cell survival, differentiation, and proliferation in mammalian cells. ILK has been implicated in the progression of several human
malignancies. However, its function in malignant
tumors is not fully enunciated. Previous in vitro studies also implicated ILK in the regulation of
E-cadherin expression and
vascular endothelial growth factor expression. In the current study, we investigated the
protein expression of ILK and its correlation with clinicopathological profiles,
E-cadherin expression, microvessel density (MVD) and clinical outcome in 57 lung
squamous cell carcinoma and 44
adenocarcinoma, using immunohistochemistry. No ILK was detected in normal bronchial epithelium, while it was positively expressed in 39 (68.42%)
squamous cell carcinoma cases and 27 (61.36%)
adenocarcinoma cases. Positive ILK expression was significantly associated with advanced TNM stage (P = 0.022) in
adenocarcinoma, and associated with high MVD in lung
squamous cell carcinoma (P < 0.001) and
adenocarcinoma (P = 0.049). The Spearman's correlation test revealed that increased ILK expression was correlated with reduced
E-cadherin expression in lung
squamous cell carcinoma (correlation coefficient = 0.364, P = 0.005). Moreover, the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that ILK,
E-cadherin, and MVD were all statistically significant prognostic factors in patients with lung
squamous cell carcinoma and
adenocarcinoma. Measuring ILK and
E-cadherin expression, and MVD may contribute to a better understanding of the prognosis of patients with lung
squamous cell carcinoma and
adenocarcinoma.