Prognostic significance of preoperative serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 level in non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: We retrospectively analyzed the prognostic significance of preoperative serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) level in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

METHODS: We enrolled 175 NSCLC patients who underwent curative surgery between 2009 and 2011. We subdivided the patients into 2 groups: with and without interstitial lung disease (ILD). Prognostic significance of serum KL-6 level was examined.

RESULTS: The 5-year survival of patients with high serum KL-6 level was poor. Multivariate analysis also revealed the prognostic significance of serum KL-6 level. Serum KL-6 level was also a prognostic factor for patients without ILD. Although the number of patients with ILD was small, in patients with ILD, there was a trend towards an association between serum KL-6 level and patients' prognosis but this did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS: Serum KL-6 level is a prognostic factor for resected NSCLC patients, especially patients without ILD. There is a possibility that serum KL-6 level is a prognostic marker regardless of the presence of ILD.