Abstract: Objective： To explore the mRNA expression of lunx in regional lymph nodes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its correlation with prognosis. Methods SYBR greenⅠreal-time RT-PCR was used to determine the lunx mRNA level in 153 regional lymph nodes obtained from 75 patients with NSCLC. All patients had been followed up for 3 years. Six factors that may influence the survival rate were analyzed by a Cox regression model. Results： Expressions of lunx in regional lymph nodes had a statistical correlation with age, nutritional index, relapse within 3 years and metastasis(P＜0.01, P＜0.01, and P＜0.05) but had no correlation with gender, tumor types and pathological grades（P＞0.05). There were statistical significances between the survival of NSCLC patients and post-operative adjuvant therapy and expression of lunx (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01). Conclusions： The expression of Lunx in regional lymph nodes closely correlates with the survival of NSCLC patients and it may be a target gene for detection of micrometastasis from NSCLC and a marker for detection in 3 years prognosis. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR is helpful in early diagnosis of micrometastasis of the lymph node in patients with NSCLC.

Key words: Lung neoplasms, Micrometastasis, Lunx, RT-PCR