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Expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) and its significance has been demonstrated in some cancer cells in recent clinical studies. However, the role of tumor MCP-1 and CCR2 expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic significance of MCP-1 and CCR2 expression in NSCLC cells. The relationship between MCP-1 and CCR2 expression in NSCLC cancer cells was examined by immunohistochemical staining of surgical specimens from 134 patients. Sixty-five of these patients had follow-up records. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression model were used to assess overall survival according to the presence or absence of MCP-1 and CCR2 expression in tumor cells. MCP-1 was detected in cancer cells of 107 NSCLC (79.9 %) and CCR2 was detected in cancer cells of 39 NSCLC (29.1 %). MCP-1 expression was correlated with sex, smoking habits, histology, and tumor size. Presence of MCP-1 in tumor cells was associated with better overall survival ( P = 0.018). By multivariate analysis, MCP-1 expression in cancer cells showed an independent prognostic factor for overall survival ( P = 0.002, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.256, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.106-0.616). There was no significant relationship between CCR2 expression in tumor cells and clinical and pathological characteristics. Also, no significant positive correlation between MCP-1 and CCR2 expression was revealed by Spearman correlation analysis. Our data indicate that MCP-1 is overexpressed in NSCLC cells. Its expression in cancer cells is associated with better survival in NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]