HIF-1alpha in lung carcinoma: Histopathological evidence of hypoxia targets in patient biopsies

Abstract

Background: Hypoxia inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) plays a major role in the response of tumors to hypoxia, and contributes to tumor aggressiveness, invasiveness and resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Targeting HIF-1alpha is an attractive strategy, with the potential for disrupting multiple pathways crucial for tumor growth. Thus, the evaluation of HIF-1alpha in patient biopsies could be useful in personalized cancer treatment.

Methodology: The current literature on HIF-1alpha immunohistochemical expression is reviewed along with the relation to clinical outcome and prognosis. In addition, the significant correlation of HIF-1alpha to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression is reported, as well as the possible role of HIF-1alpha in predicting the therapeutic response to anti-EGFR therapies.

Conclusion: Herein, an overview of the HIF-1alpha expression in lung carcinoma is presented. Since there is no consensus regarding the assessment of HIF-1alpha in tissue specimens, heterogeneous results have been reported especially regarding prognosis. In this context, methods to optimize the evaluation of HIF-1alpha in biopsies are needed in order to clarify the role of HIF-1alpha as a prognostic or predictive biomarker in lung carcinoma.