摘要Objective: To investigate the relationship between co-deletion of p15/p16 genes and the prognostic significance in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: By using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the loss of p15/pl6 genes was examined in DNA samples from 140 NSCLC patients. Results: The rate of co-deletion in adenocarcinoma was significantly higher than that in squamous cell carcinoma (P<0.05), while it was not related to sex, age and TNM stages (P>0.05). By a five years' follow-up survey, the survival rate of NSCLC patients with co-deletion of pl5/pl6 genes was obviously lower than that of patients without co-deletion (P<0.01). In the multivariate analysis, co-deletion of p15/p16 genes and TNM stages were identified as independent predictors for overall survival (P<0.01). Conclusion: Since the co-deletion of pl5/pl6 genes is significantly related to the prognosis of NSCLC patients, detecting co-deletion of both genes might be used as a potential marker for NSCLC prognosis.