Increased phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase gene expression in non-small-cell lung cancer tissue predicts shorter patient survival

Lipid mobilization is of great importance for tumor growth and studies have suggested that cancer cells exhibit abnormal choline phospholipid metabolism. In the present study, we hypothesized that phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) gene expression is increased in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues and that increased gene expression acts as a predictor of shorter patient survival. Forty-two consecutive patients with resected NSCLC were enrolled in this study. Paired samples of lung cancer tissues and adjacent non-cancer lung tissues were collected from resected specimens for the estimation of PEMT expression. SYBR Green-based real-time polymerase chain reaction was used for quantification of PEMT mRNA in lung cancer tissues. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthase (FASN) activities had already been measured in the same tissues. During a four-year follow-up, 21 patients succumbed to tumor progression. One patient did not survive due to non-cancer reasons and was not included in the analysis. Cox regression analysis was used to assess the prognostic value of PEMT expression. Our findings show that elevated PEMT expression in the cancer tissue, relative to that in the adjacent non-cancer lung tissue, predicts shorter patient survival independently of standard prognostic factors and also independently of increased LPL or FASN activity, the two other lipid-related predictors of shorter patient survival. These findings suggest that active phosphatidylcholine and/or choline metabolism are essential for tumor growth and progression.