title: MCAM expression is associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MCAM has been recently identified as a biomarker for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and is potentially involved in metastasis of cancer. The current study aimed at investigating the expression of MCAM in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its clinico-pathological significance.
  
  
  METHODS
  A follow-up analysis was performed on 118 patients with NSCLC resected by lobectomy or pneumectomy with systematic lymph node dissection. All patients were followed for 6-60 months. Immunostaining of tissue sections from primary tumors and their lymph node metastasis was performed and evaluated using monoclonal antibody against MCAM, E-cadherin, and vimentin. Correlations were investigated between MCAM immunostaining in primary tumors and E-cadherin, vimentin immunostaining, lymph node metastasis, and survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MCAM protein expression was found in 46.61 % of squamous cell carcinomas and 37.47 % of adenocarcinomas; MCAM expression positively correlated with vimentin, but inversely with E-cadherin (both P values <0.05). There were significant correlations between the MCAM immunostaining score in primary tumors and in their lymph node metastasis (P = 0.03). According to the Kaplan-Meier survival estimate, the level of MCAM expression in primary tumors was a statistically significant prognostic factor (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MCAM expression in surgically treated NSCLC is clearly associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Weiwu Road 7, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D051929:CD146 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051929:CD146 Antigen; C497902:MCAM protein, human