BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The relationships of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzymes, encoded by the genes ADH1 (1A), ADH1B (ADH2), ADH1C (ADH3), ADH4, ADH5, ADH6, and ADH7, with NSCLC have not been studied. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between NSCLC prognosis and the expression patterns of ADH family members.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The online resource Metabolic gEne RApid Visualizer was used to assess the expression patterns of ADH family members in normal and primary lung tumor tissues. The GeneMANIA plugin of Cytoscape software and STRING website were used to evaluate the relationships of the 7 ADH family members at the gene and protein levels. Gene ontology enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis were performed using DAVID. The online website Kaplan-Meier Plotter was used to construct survival curves between NSCLC and ADH isoforms.

RESULTS: The prognosis of patients with high expression levels of the ADH1B, ADH1C, ADH4, and ADH5 genes was better than those with low expression in adenocarcinoma and all (containing adenocarcinoma and squamous cell cancer) histological types (all P<0.05). Low expression of ADH7 was associated with a better prognosis in patients with both the adenocarcinoma and squamous cell cancer histological types (P=9e-05). Moreover, expression of ADH family members was associated with smoking status, clinical stage, and chemotherapy status.

CONCLUSIONS: ADH1B, ADH1C, ADH4, ADH5, and ADH7 appear to be useful biomarkers for the prognosis of NSCLC patients.

Keywords: Alcohol Dehydrogenase, Biological Markers, Multigene Family