Relevance of EGFR gene mutation with pathological features and prognosis in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma

Objective:To study the relevance of EGFR gene mutation with pathological features and prognosis in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma.Methods:A total of 297 patients from July 2009 to May 2013 were chosen as objects.EGFR gene mutation were detected with fluorescence quantitative PCR.Relevance of EGFR gene mutation with clinical and pathological features was analyzed,and the prognosis of EGFR- mutant-patients and that of EGFR- wide type-patients was compared.Results:In 297 patients.136(45.79%) showed EGFR gene mutation.EGFR gene mutation had no significant relevance with age.gender,smoking history,family history of cancer and clinical stage(P>0.05);there was significant relevance between EGFR gene mutation and blood type,pathologic types,differentiation and diameter of cancer(P<0.05).The difference between prognosis of EGFR- mutant-patients and that of EGFR- wide type-patients was statistical significance(P<0.05).Conclusions:EGFR gene mutation has significant relevance with pathological features,the prognosis of EGFRmutant-paticnts is better than that of EGFR- wide type-patients.

Inhibitory Effect of MiR-449b on Cancer Cell Growth and Invasion through LGR4 in Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma

Non-small-cell lung carcinoma （NSCLC） is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies worldwide. Previous studies have shown that microRNA-449b （miR-449b） functions as a tumor suppressor in many cancers. However, the role of miR- 449b in NSCLC is still unknown. In the present study, miR-449b was significantly down- regulated in NSCLC samples and cell lines. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that 3＇-UTR region of leucine rich repeat containing G protein-coupled receptor 4 （LGR4） mRNA had putative complementary sequences to miR-449b, which was further confirmed by the luciferase assay. Western blotting showed that restoration of miR-449b in NSCLC cells decreased the expression of LGR4. Interestingly, over-expression of miR-449b inhibited growth and invasion of NSCLC cells in vitro. Furthermore, ectopic expression of LGR4 reversed miR-449b-suppressed proliferation and invasion of NSCLC cells. Therefore, the data of the present study demonstrate that miR-449b inhibits tumor cell growth and invasion by targeting LGR4 in NSCLC.

Effect of Breathing on Exposed Lung Volumes and Doses in Patients with Breast Carcinoma Receiving Radiotherapy

Introduction: This study evaluates the changes in the lung volume (LV) exposed radiation during the breath cycle and whether these volume differences have an effect on both lung and target doses in breast carcinoma patients. Material and Methods: Ten patients with left breast carcinoma underwent breast conservative surgery or mastectomy receiving radiotherapy (RT) (breast or chest wall and regional lymph nodes) were included. For this study, planning computerized tomography (CT) images were obtained during deep inspiration (DI) and end of expiration (EE), besides free breathing (FB) to simulate breath cycles. Three-dimensional conformal or intensity-modulated RT planning was done to obtain dose-volume information using CT series taken FB, DI and EE. The treatment plan was done with FB images and exported to the DI and EE scans and re-calculated. Volume changes and calculated dose differences according to breath cycles were compared. Results: There were significant differences in the whole LV, ipsilateral LV and contralateral LV between FB-DI and EE-DI while no significant difference was seen between FB and EE. V20 was lower during DI than FB and EE but the difference was not significant. There was no significant variation in whole breast dose although significant dose variations were observed in mean MI, supraclaviculary and level III axillary lymph node doses between breath cycles. Conclusion: Breath cycle had no significant effect on whole breast dose although significantly changed regional lymph node doses in patients with breast carcinoma receiving whole breast and regional lymph nodes radio-therapy. V20 dose was lower during DI than FB and EE, but the difference was not significant.

Clinical Observation on Treatment of NonParvicellular Carcinoma of the Lung with Jin Fu Kang Oral Liquid

Jin Fu Kang Oral Liquid ([symbol: see text]), made of traditional Chinese drugs for supplementing qi and nourishing yin, was developed according to the common symptoms in lung carcinoma with deficiency of both qi and yin. Of the 96 cases in the Jin Fu Kang group, 1 case got complete remission (CR) after treatment, 8 cases partial remission (PR), 52 cases no change (NC), PR + NC covering 63.5%. Of the 52 cases in the group of Jin Fu Kang plus chemotherapy, 11 cases got PR after treatment, 26 cases NC, PR + NC covering 71.2%. Of the 25 cases in the chemotherapy group, 4 cases got PR after treatment, 11 cases NC, PR + NC covering 60.0%. The results show that the therapeutic effectiveness in the Jin Fu Kang group and the group of Jin Fu Kang plus chemotherapy was better than that in the chemotherapy group. The one-year survival rate and the two-year survival rate after treatment in the Jin Fu Kang group were 67.3% and 67.3% respectively; 66.7% and 66.7% in the group of Jin Fu Kang plus chemotherapy; and 40.3% and 0.0% in the chemotherapy group. The improvement of clinical symptoms, increase of body weight and improvement of health situation (KPS marks) after treatment in both the Jin Fu Kang group and the group of Jin Fu Kang plus chemotherapy were better than that in the chemotherapy group. Some indicators of immunology and hemogram after treatment were greatly improved in the Jin Fu Kang group, worse in the chemotherapy group, but no obvious improvement in the group of Jin Fu Kang plus chemotherapy.

Pembrolizumab-emerging treatment of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma: A case report

BACKGROUND Few studies have addressed the efficacy of pembrolizumab in pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma(PSC),a rare,previously rapidly fatal subtype of nonsmall-cell lung cancer.CASE SUMMARY We report the case of a 69-year-old man presented with respiratory distress caused by a large left upper lung lobe mass diagnosed as PSC with programmed death-ligand 1 expressed on more than 50 percent of tumor cells.The patient was started on pembrolizumab and,after 5 cycles,there was a more than 80 percent decrease in the size of the tumor mass.Further decrease was seen at the end of 10 cycles.The patient has been tolerating pembrolizumab well,with no limiting side-effects.Fourteen months after first coming into the hospital,he remains asymptomatic.CONCLUSION Pembrolizumab appears as a viable emerging treatment for PSC.

Evaluation of conventional radiotherapy vs. conformal radiotherapy in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer after surgical resection

Objective： To compare the survival fractions and radiation-induced complications of conventional radiotherapy （CV） vs. conformal radiotherapy （CF） for non-small-cell lung cancer （NSCLC） after surgical resection. Methods： Between 1990 and 2002, 167 patients underwent post-radiotherapy either CV （n = 90） or CF （n = 77） for pathological IliA NSCLC at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Patients and tumor charactedstics were balanced in the two treatment groups. Surgical resection mainly consisted of Iobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection. In the CV group, postoperative radiotherapy was delivered to 54.3 Gy （range 22-69.6 Gy） in 27 fractions （range 11-58 f） for 5-6 weeks, while the CF group with RT to 53.9 Gy （range 50-63 Gy） in 26 fractions （range 25-33 f） for 5-6 weeks. Overall survival, disease-free survival, local control and distant metastasis-free survival were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The complications of radiotherapy were also compared between the two groups. The median follow-up duration was 36 months in the CV group while 24 months in the CF group. Results： No statistically significant differences were found in terms of disease-free survival, local-regional control and distant metastasis-free survival in the two treatment groups. However, the overall survival was found statistically significant different in the two groups （P = 0.014）. Postoperative radiotherapy complications such as weight loss, skin reaction, dysphagia, and cardiac related complication were similar in the two groups although the lung fibrosis, cardiac complications and hematologic complications were significantly different, and 8 cases of death in the CV group associated with cardiac complications while none was observed in the CF group. Conclusion： The treatment of stage IliA NSCLC using either CV or CF postoperative radiotherapy resulted in similar outcomes in terms of local control, disease-free survival and most of complications. However, CF could achieve better overall survival and less complications such as lung fibrosis, cardiac complications and hematologic complications. The advantage is worth further observation.

Advances in adjuvant systemic therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer

Non-small-cell lung cancer remains a leading cause of death around the world. For most cases, the only chance of cure comes from resection for localised disease, however relapse rates remain high following surgery. Data has emerged over recent years regarding the utility of adjuvant chemotherapy for improving disease-free and overall survival of patients following curative resection. This paper reviews the clinical trials that have been conducted in this area along with the studies integrating radiation therapy in the adjuvant setting. The role of prognostic gene signatures are reviewed as well as ongoing clinical trials including those incorporating biological or targeted therapies.

Pang Fuwan Uses Yao Medicine to Observe the Therapeutic Effects on the Physical and Mental Symptoms of Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective: Investigate the efficacy and safety of Yao Medicine in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma, and explore the best therapeutic measure for clinical benefit. Methods: From July 2020 to July 2022, 84 patients with advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma were selected and randomly divided into the Observation Group and control group, and the control group was treated with routine Western medicine, with 42 cases in each group. The activity of daily living (ADL) was assessed before and after treatment, meanwhile, the self-rating depression scale (SDS) and self-rating anxiety SAS (SAS) were used to assess the improvement of a bad mood, and quality of life SF-36 was used to assess the quality of life, to judge the efficacy and safety. Results: The effective rate of observation group was 91.67%. The effective rate of the control group was 76.19%. The effective rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P 0.05). There were no significant differences in the scores of SDS, SAS and quality of life between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05), and after treatment, the scores of SDS, SAS and quality of life in the two groups were compared with those in the control group (P > 0.05), the scores of VAS, SDS and SAS decreased significantly, while ESCV, angle of straight leg elevation, ADL, physiological score, emotional score, social score and health status score increased significantly, the difference was statistically significant (P 0.05). Conclusion: Yao Medicine can improve the psychosomatic symptoms of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma better, with better efficacy and higher safety.

Unresectable stage Ⅲ non-small-cell lung cancer: Have we made any progress?

Lung cancer is responsible for the most cancer deaths worldwide with an incidence that is still rising. One third of patients have unresectable stage ⅢA or stage ⅢB disease. The standard of care for locally advanceddisease in patients with good performance status consists of combined modality therapy in particular concurrent chemoradiotherapy. But despite a lot of efforts done in the past, local control and survival of patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC) remains poor. Improving outcomes for patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ NSCLC has therefore been an area of ongoing research. Research has focused on improving systemic therapy, improving radiation therapy or adding a maintenance therapy to consolidate the initial therapy. Also implementation of newer targeted therapies and immunotherapy has been investigated as well as the option of prophylactic cranial irradiation. This article reviews the latest literature on improving local control and preventing distant metastases. It seems that we have reached a plateau with conventional chemotherapy. Radiotherapy dose escalation did not improve outcome although increasing radiation dose-intensity with new radiotherapy techniques and the use of newer agents, e.g., immunotherapy might be promising. In the future well-designed clinical trials are necessary to prove those promising results.

Therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer patients with brain metastasis

Brain metastasis is a major cause of poor prognosis and high mortality for non-small cell lung cancer patients. The prognosis of non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC) patients with brain metastasis is generally poor and more effective treatment is required to improve their prognosis. Whole-brain radiotherapy, surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, chemotherapy and targeted therapy are the main treatment for brain metastasis. This review focuses on the five therapeutic strategy and in particular, on targeted therapy.

Complete pathological response in locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patient: A case report

BACKGROUND Chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed by durvalumab is currently the standard treatment for locally advanced node-positive non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC).We describe the case of a patient with locally advanced node-positive NSCLC(LA-NSCLC)treated in a phase II prospective protocol with chemotherapy,accelerated hypofractionated radiotherapy(AHRT)and surgery in the preimmunotherapy era.CASE SUMMARY A 69-year-old male,ex-smoker(20 PY),with a Karnofsky performance status of 90,was diagnosed with locally advanced squamous cell lung carcinoma.He was staged by total body computed tomography(CT)scanning,and integrated 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT scan[cT4 cN3 cM0,stage IIIC according to TNM(tumor-node-metastasis)8th edition]and received AHRT between chemotherapy cycles,in accordance with the study protocol(EudractCT registration 2008-006525-14).At the end of the study the patient underwent surgery,which was not part of the protocol,and showed a complete pathological response.CONCLUSION This case report confirms that AHRT can be used successfully to treat primary LA-NSCLC with bilateral mediastinal lymph node involvement.Our case is of particular interest because of the pathological response after AHRT and the lack of surgical complications.We hypothesize that this radiotherapeutic approach,with its proven efficacy,could be delivered as a short course reducing treatment costs,increasing patient compliance and reducing toxicity.We are currently investigating the possibility of combining hypofractionation,chemotherapy and immunotherapy for patients with LA-NSCLC.

The Therapeutic Effects of the Radiotherapy Plus TCM Treatment Observed in Senile Non-Parvicellular Lung Cancer Patients at the Late Stage

47 senile non-parvicellular lung cancer patients at stage Ⅲ or Ⅳ were randomly divided into a treatment group (26 cases) treated by radiotherapy plus traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and a control group (21 cases) treated only by radiotherapy for observation of the therapeutic effects.The patients in the treatment group orally took Chinese medicine during and after the radiotherapy.There was no obvious difference in short-term therapeutic effects between the two groups,but the long-term curative effects in the treatment group was obviously superior to that in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01).Conclusion:radiotherapy plus TCM can prolong the survival period for senile non-parvicellular lung cancer patients.

Apoptosis of Lewis Lung Carcinoma Cells Induced by Microwave via p53 and Proapoptotic Proteins In vivo

Background： Microwave therapy is a minimal invasive procedure and has been employed in clinical practice for the treatment of various types of cancers. However, its therapeutic application in non-small-cell lung cancer and the underlying mechanism remains to be investigated. This study aimed to investigate its effect on Lewis lung carcinoma （LLC） tumor in vivo. Methods： Fifty LLC tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice were adopted to assess the effect of microwave radiation on the growth and apoptosis of LLC tumor in vivo. These mice were randomly assigned to 10 groups with 5 mice in each group. Five groups were treated by single pulse microwave at different doses for different time, and the other five groups were radiated by multiple-pulse treatment of a single dose. Apoptosis of cancer cells was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling assay. Western blotting was applied to detect the expression of proteins. Results： Single pulse of microwave radiation for 5 min had little effect on the mice. Only 15-min microwave radiation at 30 mW/cm2 significantly increased the mice body temperature （2.20 ± 0.82）℃ as compared with the other groups （0.78 ± 0.29 ℃, 1.24 ± 0.52 ℃, 0.78 ± 0.42 ℃, respectively）, but it did not affect the apoptosis of LLC tumor cells significantly. Continous microwave radiation exposure, single dose microwave radiation once per day for up to seven days, inhibited cell division and induced apoptosis of LLC tumor cells in a dose- and duration-dependent manner. It upregulated the protein levels of p53, Caspase 3, Bax and downregulated Bcl-2 protein. Conclusions： Multiple exposures of LLC-bearing mice to microwave radiation effectively induced tumor cell apoptosis at least partly by upregulating proapoptotic proteins and downregulating antiapoptotic proteins. Continuous radiation at low microwave intensity Ibr a short time per day is promising in treating non-small-cell lung cancer.

Initial outcome of induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy and concurrent weekly paclitaxel for stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancer

Objective： The aim of our study was to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of induction chemotherapy （ICT） followed by three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy （3D CRT） and concurrent weekly paclitaxel on unresectable non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods： Stage III NSCLC patients with favorable conditions were treated with 2 to 4 cycles of carboplatin （AUC = 5-6, dl） combined with paclitaxel （175 mg/m〈 dl）, then followed by weekly paclitaxel （40 mg/m2） and concurrent 3D CRT within 3-4 weeks. The prescription dose was given as high as possible under the condition that V20 〈 31% and spinal cord dose 〈 50 Gy. Results： Thirty-one patients were enrolled. ICT was well tolerated. During the concurrent chemoradiotherapy, the treatment of 3 patients was ended ahead of the schedule because of severe pulmonary and heart toxicities; the treatment of 2 patients was delayed for 7 and 12 days because of fatigue. Myelosuppression was mild （16/31）： all were grade 1-2 except 1 was grade 3. Lymphocytopenia was more obvious （29/31, grade 3 in 21）. Three patients developed grade 3 radiation-induced esophagitis, and 2 developed grades 3-4 radiation-induced pneumonitis. Two developed grade 3 esophageal stricture. No grades 3-4 pulmonary fibrosis was observed. The overall response rate was 74.1%. The 1-, 2-, 3-year overall survival rates were 74.2%, 41.9%, and 34.6%, respectively, with the median survival time of 18.5 months. The 1-, 2-, 3-year local progression-freely survival rates were 64.5%, 32.3%, and 20.5%, respectively, with the median local progression-freely survival time of 14.3 months. Conclusion： The program of ICT followed by weekly paclitaxel and 3D CRT is accomplished in most of the favorable stage III NSCLC patients. The toxicity is tolerable, and the response rate is inspiriting.

系统免疫炎症指数对根治性放疗Ⅲ期肺鳞癌患者长期生存的预测价值

目的探讨系统免疫炎症指数(SII)对接受根治性放疗的Ⅲ期肺鳞癌患者长期生存的预测价值。方法回顾性收集接受根治性放疗的Ⅲ期肺鳞癌患者的临床资料。计算患者放疗前1周内的SII及相关炎症指标,同时应用X-Tile软件确定最佳截断值。分析患者的生存情况以及SII对患者总生存(OS)及无进展生存(PFS)的影响。结果共纳入了453例患者,低SII组336例(<1277.3),高SII组117例(≥1277.3)。高SII组的中位OS和中位PFS均较低SII组缩短(OS:20.8个月vs.31.0个月,Log-rankχ2=18.015,P<0.01;PFS:13.0个月vs.21.0个月,Log-rankχ2=15.062,P<0.01)。多因素Cox回归分析显示,高SII是患者OS(HR=1.628,95%CI:1.294~2.047,P<0.001)和PFS(HR=1.559,95%CI:1.240~1.961,P<0.001)的独立危险因素,其他的影响因素包括较晚的TNM分期、放疗疗效欠佳,HALP评分下降。结论SII可作为接受根治性放疗Ⅲ期肺鳞癌患者长期生存的评价指标,SII升高提示预后较差。

Molecular Mechanisms Contributing to Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase-Targeted Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

One of the most important pathways in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) is the epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) pathway. This pathway affects several crucial processes in tumor development and progression,including tumor cell proliferation,apoptosis regulation,angiogenesis,and metastatic invasion.Targeting EGFR is currently being intensely explored.We are witnessing the development of a number of potential molecular-inhibiting treatments for application in clinical oncology.In the last decade,the tyrosine kinase(TK) domain of the EGFR was identified in NSCLC patients,and it has responded very well with a dramatic clinical improvement to TK inhibitors such are gefitinib and erlotinib.Unfortunately,there were primary and/or secondary resistance to these treatments,as shown by clinical trials.Subsequent molecular biology studies provided some explanations for the drug resistance phenomenon.The molecular mechanisms of resistance need to be clarified.An in-depth understanding of these targeted-therapy resistance may help us explore new strategies for overcoming or reversing the resistance to these inhibitors for the future of NSCLC treatment.

Value of COX-2 and HER-2 in Judging Condition and Prognosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expressions of cyclooxygenase 2 （COX-2） and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 （HER-2） in non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC） and their clinical significance in identifying the progression and prognosis of the NSCLC patients. METHODS Immunohistochemical indirect method was used to detect the expressions of the COX-2 and HER-2 protein in 54 NSCLC specimens, 16 paraneoplastic specimens, and 10 normal tissue specimens. RESULTS The positive rates of COX-2 and HER-2 protein expressions were respectively 75.9% and 40.7% in the NSCLC specimens, 25% and 12.5% in the paraneoplastic specimens, and 0 in the normal tissue. The COX-2 protein expression in lung cancer （LC） was not only related to the smoking habit of the patients and histological grades of LC, but also to the TNM stages, and lymphatic metastasis （P 〈 0.05）. HER-2 protein expression closely correlated to the pathologic types, histological grades, TNM stages, and lymphatic metastasis （P 〈 0.05）. The result of univariate analysis showed that all the histological grades, TNM stages, lymphatic metastasis, and expressions of COX-2/HER-2 correlated to the prognosis of NSCLC patients （mean of P value 〈 0.01）. The multivariate survival analysis indicated that there were signi.cant di.erences in comparison of the survival time between the COX-2 （＋＋/＋＋＋） /HER-2 （＋＋/＋＋＋） and the COX-2 （-/＋）/HER-2 （-/＋） groups （P〈 0.001）, suggesting the COX-2/HER-2 was a negative prognostic factor. CONCLUSION COX-2 and HER-2 are valuable in identifying the progression of NSCLC and predicting the prognosis of NSCLC patients. COX-2 and HER-2 are useful for judging the NSCLC patient＇s condition, and are of great value to the decision of NSCLC prognosis.

Role of positron emission tomography-computed tomography in non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Non-small cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma are the main histological subtypes and constitutes around 85% and 15% of all lung cancer respectively. Multimodality treatment plays a key role in the successful management of lung cancer depending upon the histological subtype, stage of disease, and performance status. Imaging modalities play an important role in the diagnosis and accurate staging of the disease, in assessing the response to neoadjuvant therapy, and in the follow-up of the patients. Last decade has witnessed voluminous upsurge in the use of positron emission tomography-computed tomography(PET-CT); role of PET-CT has widened exponentially in the management of lung cancer. The present article reviews the role of 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose PET-CT in the management of non small cell lung cancer with emphasis on staging of the disease and the assessment of response to neoadjuvant therapy based on available literature.

肺癌患者放疗前后血清ProGRP、SCC和铁蛋白水平变化及其临床意义

目的 探讨肺癌患者放疗前后血清胃泌素释放肽前体(ProGRP)、鳞状细胞癌抗原(SCC)和铁蛋白(SF)水平变化及其临床意义。方法 选取122例非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)患者作为研究组,根据放疗敏感性分为敏感组(n=43)及不敏感组(n=79)。另选取同期70例健康体检者作为对照组,检测并比较所有受试者血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平,分析血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平对NSCLC的诊断价值,并比较NSCLC患者放疗前后血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平,分析不同放疗敏感性NSCLC患者放疗前后血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平变化。结果 研究组血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平均高于对照组(P<0.05);由ROC曲线可知,血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平联合诊断NSCLC的AUC为0.926,高于三者单独诊断的0.784、0.822、0.805(P<0.05);NSCLC患者放疗后血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平均低于放疗前(P<0.05);敏感度组放疗后血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平低于放疗前及不敏感组(P<0.05)。结论 NSCLC患者血清ProGRP、SCC及SF水平升高,三者联合检测对NSCLC具有较高的诊断价值,监测三者水平变化有利于评估NSCLC患者放疗敏感性。

^(18)F-FDG uptake as a biologic factor predicting outcome in patients with resected non-small-cell lung cancer

Background The outcome of surgical treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer （NSCLC） remains poor. In many patients the biological behavior of NSCLC does not follow a definite pattern, and can not be accurately predicted before treatment. ^18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose （^18F-FDG） uptake on positron-emission tomography （PET） is associated with the aggressiveness of NSCLC. The present study focused on the role of ^18F-FDG uptake in predicting the outcome of surgically treated patients with NSCLC. Methods A retrospective analysis was made of 82 patients who underwent complete resection and preoperative FDG PET. The maximum standardized uptake value （SUVmax）, in addition to five clinicopathological factors and three biomolecular factors, which could possibly influence survival, was compared for possible association with patients＇ recurrence and survival, by the Log-rank test in univariate analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model in multivariate analysis. The association between SUVmax and other factors was also analyzed. Results Patients with SUVmax more than 11 had a disease-free survival and overall survival shorter than patients with SUVmax less than 11 in univariate analyses （P〈0.001, P=0.002）. In the multivariate analysis, SUVmax （dichotomized by 11） was the only significant predictor for tumor recurrence. TNM stage and SUVmax （dichotomized by 11） were independent predictors for the overall survival. Associations of SUVmax with p53 overexpression, proliferating cell nuclear antigen （PCNA） labeling index and microvascular density of the tumor were significant in the entire group. Conclusions ^18F-FDG uptake on PET may be used to noninvasively assess biological aggressiveness of NSCLC in vivo, identifying the surgically-treated patients with poor prognosis who could benefit from additional therapy.