Prognostic and Predictive Value of Permeability-Glycoprotein, Ki-67, and Interleukin-6 in Lung Cancer Patients

Objective: Lung cancer patients often present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, which affects their treatment regimen. Therefore, early diagnosis is crucial for improving patient survival. This study aimed to evaluate the roles of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), Ki-67, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as diagnostic and predictive indicators in lung cancer. A secondary aim was to assess the prevalence of multi-drug resistance associated with P-gp gene expression in these patients.Material and Methods: This study included 90 lung cancer patients, consisting of 60 with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 30 with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Additionally, 75 control samples were matched for age, gender, and smoking status. The levels of P-gp, Ki-67, and IL-6 in serum were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). P-gp gene expression was assessed via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Results: The results indicated that P-gp levels were significantly elevated in SCLC and NSCLC patients (10.35±0.51 ng/ml and 10.06±0.32 ng/ml, respectively) compared to the control group (3.79±0.21 ng/ml; p-value=0.0001). Ki-67 and IL-6 levels also significantly increased in SCLC patients (15.28±0.27 ng/ml and 54.46±2.11 ng/ml, respectively) compared to NSCLC (13.97±0.52 ng/ml and 46.17±1.18 ng/ml, respectively) and the control group (8.43±0.24 ng/ml and 26.40±1.01 ng/ml, respectively; p-value=0.0001). Additionally, mRNA expression of P-gp was significantly higher in lung cancer patients compared to controls.Conclusion: Elevated levels of P-gp, Ki-67, and IL-6 may serve as useful diagnostic and predictive markers for lung cancer. Moreover, increased mRNA expression of P-gp suggests that lung cancer patients may exhibit resistance to chemotherapy.