Abstract: BACKGROUND ＆ AIM： To investigate the expression of fragile histidine triad (FHIT) and p16 in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and their relationships with clinicopathological factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS： Eighty cases of NSCLCs were examined for expression of FHIT and p16 by immunohistochemical SP method. RESULTS： 54(67.5％) and 63(78.75％) of 80 patients revealed loss of or markedly reduced protein expression of FHIT and p16, respectively. Aberrant expression of FHIT was noted in most squamous (25 out of 55) and in a small fraction of adenocarcinomas (3 out of 23; P<0.01), and more frequently in male patients than female patients. Notably, loss of p16 expression was associated with lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION： Our results suggested that abnormal expressions of FHIT and p16 gene might occur early and play important roles in lung tumorigenesis and correlate with its prognosis. However, further studies are needed to confirm the influence of FHIT and p16 in the biologic behavior of the tumor.

Key words: lung cancer, FHIT, p16