Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of ubiquitin specific protease (USP) 10,28,and 35 in lung cancer (LC) tissues and their relationship with clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis. Methods 154 patients with LC admitted to Baoji Third Hospital from June 2018 to June 2021 were selected.During the operation,tumor tissue and normal residual lung tissue adjacent to the cancer (≥2 cm from the tumor margin) were collected.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of USP10,USP28,and USP35 in tumor tissue and normal residual lung tissue adjacent to the cancer.The relationship between the three and the clinical pathological characteristics of LC was analyzed.The expression of USP10,USP28,and USP35 in patients who did not experience recurrence/metastasis and those who experienced recurrence/metastasis were compared.Kaplan Meiercurves were used to analyze the 3-year disease-free survival rate of USP10,USP28,and USP35 negative/positive expression groups. Results The positive expression rates of USP10,USP28,and USP35 in the normal residual lung tissue and LC tissue adjacent to the cancer were 10.39% and 63.64%,12.99% and 71.43%,and 14.94% and 66.88%,respectively.The positive expression rates of USP10,USP28,and USP35 in LC tissue were significantly higher than those in the normal residual lung tissue adjacent to the cancer (P<0.05).Compared with TNM stage Ⅰ+Ⅱ and those without lymph node metastasis,the positive expression rates of USP10,USP28,and USP35 in cancer tissues of TNM stage Ⅲa and those with lymph node metastasis were significantly increased (P<0.05).The median follow-up time for 154 patients was 29.23 months,with 4 lost to follow-up and 150 completed follow-up,resulting in a follow-up rate of 97.40% (150/154).Among them,98 cases experienced recurrence/metastasis,and 75 cases died due to recurrence/metastasis.The tumor recurrence/metastasis rate was 65.33% (98/150),and the disease-free survival rate was 34.67% (52/150).Kaplan Meiersurvival curve analysis showed that the 3-year disease-free survival rate of the USP10,USP28,and USP35 positive expression groups was significantly shorter than that of the negative expression group (P<0.05).The positive expression rates of USP10,USP28,and USP35 in cancer tissues of patients with recurrence/metastasis were significantly higher than those of patients without recurrence/metastasis (P<0.05). Conclusion The high expression of USP10,USP28,and USP35 in lung cancer tissues is associated with lymph node metastasis,high TNM staging,and low 3-year disease-free survival rate.

Key words: ubiquitin specific protease 10; ubiquitin specific protease 28; ubiquitin specific protease 35; lung cancer; clinical and pathological features; prognosis