Yida Liao1, Yang Ni, Ren He, Weidong Liu, Jiajun Du. 1. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan, 250021, People's Republic of China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP-α), which is a serine protease specially expressed on the surface of the cancer stromal cells, plays an important role in the progression and prognosis in diverse malignancies. However, the role of FAP-α in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 59 NSCLC patients who received complete resection. Sections of paraffin-embedded primary NSCLC specimens of all the patients were stained with antibody directed against FAP-α. Overall, percentage (Grade 0-3) and intensity (0-3+) of stromal FAP-α staining of the tumor were assessed. RESULTS: FAP-α was detected in >76 % of the specimens examined, and its high expression seemed to be correlated with poor tumor differentiation (P = 0.06). Furthermore, both increased FAP-α staining percentage and intensity were associated with worse overall survival of the patients (percentage, P = 0.0087; intensity, P = 0.05). Higher FAP-α staining percentage was observed in those patients with increased peripheral neutrophil and lymphocyte count ratio (P = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: FAP-α is highly expressed in cancer stroma and also a predictor of poor survival of NSCLC patients. Elevated FAP-α expression may be associated with inflammation and suppressed lymphocyte-dependent immune response, which then result in the tumor progression. Therefore, FAP-α plays an important role in the progression of NSCLC, and its high expression is a predictor of poor survival. Targeting FAP-α may be a novel strategy for NSCLC therapy.
BACKGROUND: Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP-α), which is a serine protease specially expressed on the surface of the cancer stromal cells, plays an important role in the progression and prognosis in diverse malignancies. However, the role of FAP-α in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 59 NSCLCpatients who received complete resection. Sections of paraffin-embedded primary NSCLC specimens of all the patients were stained with antibody directed against FAP-α. Overall, percentage (Grade 0-3) and intensity (0-3+) of stromal FAP-α staining of the tumor were assessed. RESULTS: FAP-α was detected in >76 % of the specimens examined, and its high expression seemed to be correlated with poor tumor differentiation (P = 0.06). Furthermore, both increased FAP-α staining percentage and intensity were associated with worse overall survival of the patients (percentage, P = 0.0087; intensity, P = 0.05). Higher FAP-α staining percentage was observed in those patients with increased peripheral neutrophil and lymphocyte count ratio (P = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: FAP-α is highly expressed in cancer stroma and also a predictor of poor survival of NSCLCpatients. Elevated FAP-α expression may be associated with inflammation and suppressed lymphocyte-dependent immune response, which then result in the tumor progression. Therefore, FAP-α plays an important role in the progression of NSCLC, and its high expression is a predictor of poor survival. Targeting FAP-α may be a novel strategy for NSCLC therapy.
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