Higher maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase mRNA expression level is a poor prognostic factor in non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients.

Aim: To elucidate potential prognostic significance of MELK mRNA expression in non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients. Methods: A loop algorithm based on R software was used to select genes with the best prognostic value. Mantel-Haenszel method and functional enrichment analysis were used to perform this analysis. Results: MELK mRNA expression level in tumor tissue is significantly higher than that in normal/benign tissue (p < 0.001), and gradually increases from stage I to IV (lung adenocarcinoma: p = 0.011; lung squamous cell carcinoma: p = 0.002), and is negatively correlated with prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma patients (HR: 2.025 in univariate analysis; HR: 2.162 in multivariate analysis). However, it does not show a significant correlation in lung squamous cell carcinoma patients. Conclusion: MELK is a poor biomarker for non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients and can potentially be used as a therapeutic target.

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