STAT3/p-STAT3 expression is correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

Signal transducer and activator of transcription factor 3 (STAT3)/phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT) play a critical role in tumorigenesis, however, there is limited information on its prognostic value in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To address this question, 239 lung cancer and 71 normal lung tissue samples were obtained in this study. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect STAT3/p-STAT3 expression. Pearson's Chi-squared test and the Kaplan-Meier method were conducted to evaluate associations with patients' clinical characteristics and survival. According to our results, STAT3/p-STAT3 was significantly upregulated in lung cancer tissue (