Tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase 1 expression is negatively correlated with c-Met and lymph node metastasis in human lung cancer

The present study aimed to test the expression of tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase 1 (TPST‑1) in human lung cancer and to analyze the correlation with clinicopathologic features and c‑Met expression levels. Expression levels of TPST‑1 and c‑Met were analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 50 lung cancer tissues. Non‑neoplastic tissues 5 cm from the cancer tissues were collected as controls. The association between TPST‑1 and c‑Met expression and TPST‑1 and clinicopathologic parameters was then analyzed. TPST‑1 was expressed in all normal tissue samples, but only in 60% of lung cancer tissues. In tumor tissues, they appeared to be significantly lower than those in matched control lung tissues. The expression of TPST‑1 was significantly correlated with the tumor‑node‑metastasis (TNM) stage and lymph node metastasis and was significantly inversely associated with c‑Met expression. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that TPST‑1 expression was associated with the TNM stage and lymph node metastasis in patients with lung cancer. TPST‑1 was significantly negatively correlated with the expression of c‑Met in lung cancer and may be a negative prognostic biomarker of lung cancer.