Neural cell adhesion molecule and prognosis of surgically resected lung cancer.
The prognostic significance of the expression of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a neuroendocrine antigen in lung cancer, was analyzed by an indirect immunoperoxidase method in 97 surgically treated patients. Reactivity of MOC-1 and S-L 11.14, both cluster-1 monoclonal antibodies directed against NCAM, was positive in all nine small-cell lung cancers and in 16 of 88 (18%) non-small-cell lung cancers. For the latter group, this expression demonstrated a phenotypic heterogeneity that was mainly observed in poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas and in stage N2 non-small-cell lung cancers. Patients with NCAM-positive non-small-cell lung cancer proved to have a shorter survival than those with NCAM-negative disease. In Cox's model for multivariate analysis, nodal status and histology were the main independent determinants of prognosis. We therefore concluded that NCAM expression in non-small-cell lung cancer is correlated to nodal status and that it indicates a poor prognosis. These findings confirm that the diversification of lung cancer phenotype leads to tumor progression and brings a negative prognosis to surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer. However, nodal status remains the most important prognostic variable, suggesting that NCAM expression is only one of numerous biological events that promote tumor progression.
Pujol
J L
JL
Service des Maladies Respiratoires, Université de Montpellier, Hôpital Arnaud de Villeneuve, France.
Simony
J
J
Demoly
P
P
Charpentier
R
R
Laurent
J C
JC
Daurès
J P
JP
Lehmann
M
M
Guyot
V
V
Godard
P
P
Michel
F B
FB
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018287:Carcinoma, Large Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010641:Phenotype; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies
D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal