Expression of fibroblast growth factor 9 is associated with poor prognosis in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 9 is a member of the FGF family, which modulates cell proliferation, differentiation, and motility. Recent studies show that the activation of FGF signals including FGF9 is associated with the pathogenesis of several cancers; however, its clinicopathological and biological significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of NSCLC with FGF9 expression.


METHODS
We evaluated the expression of FGF9 in resected NSCLC specimens and corresponding non-tumorous lung tissue samples using cDNA microarray and evaluated its clinicopathological characteristics.


RESULTS
Nine out of 90 NSCLC specimens (10%) had "high" FGF9 expression compared with corresponding non-cancerous lung tissues. Histologically, of the 9 NSCLC specimens with high FGF9 expression, 5 were adenocarcinoma, whereas none were squamous cell carcinoma. FGF9 expression was not associated with sex, smoking history, or clinical stage. However, in patients with high and low FGF9 expression, the postoperative recurrence rates were 78% and 24% (p=0.033), respectively. Overall survival was significantly shorter in patients with high FGF9 expression than in those with low FGF9 expression (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that FGF9 may be a novel unfavorable prognostic indicator and a candidate therapeutic target of NSCLC.
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Keiko
K
Ohgino
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan. Electronic address: ksoejima@cpnet.med.keio.ac.jp.
Kenzo
K
Soejima
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Hiroyuki
H
Yasuda
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Yuichiro
Y
Hayashi
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Junko
J
Hamamoto
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Katsuhiko
K
Naoki
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Daisuke
D
Arai
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Kota
K
Ishioka
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Takashi
T
Sato
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Hideki
H
Terai
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Shinnosuke
S
Ikemura
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Satoshi
S
Yoda
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Tetsuo
T
Tani
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Aoi
A
Kuroda
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Tomoko
T
Betsuyaku
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D051525:Fibroblast Growth Factor 9 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013510:Pulmonary Surgical Procedures; D016019:Survival Analysis
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051525:Fibroblast Growth Factor 9
Adenocarcinoma; Fibroblast growth factor 9; Immunohistochemistry; Non-small cell lung cancer; Prognosis; Squamous cell carcinoma; cDNA microarray