title: Immunostaining of cathepsin-d in nonsmall cell lung-cancer - correlations with morphological and biological parameters.
abstract: Cathepsin D expression has been assessed by immunohistochemistry in 108 cases of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and its expression has been related to conventional prognostic factors such as tumor size, tumor grade, histotype and nodal involvement. The cancer cells in 41.6% of the tumors showed a granular, cytoplasmic cathepsin D (C-D) positivity. Moreover, some benign macrofage-like stromal cells expressed similar positivity. The C-D immunoreactivity was significantly associated with non-squamous histotype, small size, less advanced and more differentiated cancers. Additionally, in non-squamous tumors we observed a higher significant expression in early-staged (T1-2, NO) than in more advanced neoplasias. No significant associations were found between C-D and Ki-67, PCNA immunoreactivity, DNA ploidy or flow cytometric S-phase data. These findings suggest that NSCLCs also express C-D but, as previously reported for breast cancers, the immunohistochemical C-D expression has a good prognostic significance unlike the results obtained by cytosolic evaluation.
authors.affiliation: UNIV PISA,SERV THORAC SURG,I-56126 PISA,ITALY.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fontanini
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bigini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vignati
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ribechini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Angeletti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pingitore