title: Ectopic expression of TIM-3 in lung cancers: a potential independent prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC.
abstract: T-cell immunoglobulin- and mucin domain-3-containing molecule 3 (TIM-3) is a membrane protein expressed in various kinds of immune cells and plays a pivotal role in immune regulation. Recently, TIM-3 was reported to be expressed aberrantly in melanoma cells, contributing to the low adhesion ability of tumor cells and promoting the survival of melanoma cells. We investigated TIM-3 expression in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), and further analyzed whether the aberrant expression of TIM-3 is related to the prognosis for patients with lung cancer. Tumor tissue samples from 30 patients with NSCLC were involved. Results of immunohistochemical analysis showed that TIM-3 stained positive on tumor cells in 86.7% (26/30) patients with primary NSCLC. The TIM-3 expression in NSCLC tumor cells was correlated with histologic type and pathologic T classification of the disease (P < .05). More importantly, patients with TIM-3-positive tumor cells had a significantly shorter survival time than those with TIM-3-negative tumors. Multivariate analysis demonstrated the significant role of TIM-3 expression in tumor cells as an independent prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC (relative risk, 4.481; 95% confidence interval, 1.790-11.22; P = .0005). Our results suggest that the ectopic expression of TIM-3 in tumor cells may be a potential, independent prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education and Institute of Immunology, Shandong University School of Medicine, 107 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012 China.
authors.forename: Xuewei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Xiaoning
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Cuijuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Lifen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chunhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000077192:Adenocarcinoma of Lung; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D000072597:Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: C448908:HAVCR2 protein, human; D000072597:Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2; D008565:Membrane Proteins