Cytoplasmic expression of maspin predicts unfavourable prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.
OBJECTIVE
Maspin is known to be a tumour suppressor protein, and its prognostic significance in patients with several types of cancer, including lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), has been reported. However, its prognostic impact on lung SCC has been controversial. We explored the prognostic value of maspin expression with particular reference to its subcellular localization in patients with lung SCC.


RESULTS
Paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 101 curatively resected patients with lung SCC were analysed immunohistochemically using an antibody for maspin. Maspin positivity was defined as strong expression in only the cytoplasm and observed in 25 patients (24.6%). It correlated significantly with the presence of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.006) and higher pathological stage (P = 0.003). The patients were followed-up for 2-119 months (median: 50 months), and the maspin-positive group had shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) by log-rank test (P = 0.002, P = 0.016, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that the status of maspin was the only independent prognostic factor for DFS and DSS (P = 0.017, P = 0.047, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Cytoplasmic expression of maspin could be an independent unfavourable prognostic indicator in patients with lung SCC.
Division of Organ Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.|Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Yuki
Y
Matsuoka
Division of Organ Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.|Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Yuzo
Y
Takagi
Division of Organ Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Kanae
K
Nosaka
Division of Organ Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Tomohiko
T
Sakabe
Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Tomohiro
T
Haruki
Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Kunio
K
Araki
Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Yuji
Y
Taniguchi
Division of Organ Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Tatsushi
T
Shiomi
Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Hiroshige
H
Nakamura
Division of Organ Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Yoshihisa
Y
Umekita
D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D015843:Serpins / Q000378:metabolism*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C085344:SERPIN-B5; D015843:Serpins; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
immunohistochemistry; lung squamous cell carcinoma; maspin; prognosis