title: Clinicopathological implications of EpCAM expression in adenocarcinoma of the lung.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The frequency of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expression was investigated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and human tissues, and its clinicopathological significance in adenocarcinoma of the lung was evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  EpCAM expression was analysed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry in human NSCLC cells. EpCAM protein expression was evaluated in 234 adenocarcinoma tissues using immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high expression level of EpCAM was observed in human NSCLC cells by flow cytometry and RT-PCR. EpCAM overexpression was detected in 120/234 (51.3%) surgically resected adenocarcinoma tissues. EpCAM overexpression occurred significantly more frequently in adenocarcinoma than in bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (p=0.02). The overall survival did not differ significantly between EpCAM-overexpressing and EpCAM-negative patients (p=0.40).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest EpCAM plays a role in the carcinogenesis of adenocarcinoma of the lung and might provide a promising molecule for targeted therapy in NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Medical Nanoelement Development Center, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Youngwook
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyo Song
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Zheng Yun
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Hye-Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Chan Keum
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Keunchil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Myung-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D017931:DNA Primers; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D017931:DNA Primers; C499379:EPCAM protein, human; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule