Clinicopathological Significance of S100A4 Expression in Non-small Cell Lung Carcinomas

Background : S100A4 has been implicated in invasion and metastasis of various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not S100A4 plays an important role in non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs). Methods : Sixty-seven patients with NSCLC including 37 with squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and 30 with adenocarcinomas (ADs) who had undergone surgical resection were analyzed. S100A4 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarray blocks. Results : S100A4 expression was positive in 56 (83.6%) of 67 NSCLC cases. ADs were more frequently S100A4 positive than SCCs (p = 0.017). However, no significant correlation was observed between S100A4 expression and age, gender, pT, pN or tumor, node and metastasis (TNM) stage. Two distant metastatic cases revealed an S100A4 positive reaction. Kaplan-Meier survival curves with the log-rank test showed no correlation with 3-year survival (p = 0.782) or 5-year survival (p = 0.227) in either group of patients according to S100A4 expression. Conclusions : S100A4 expression was not correlated with age, gender, pT, pN or TNM stage or survival in patients with NSCLCs. Therefore, S100A4 expression may not be useful as a prognostic marker for NSCLCs. However, S100A4 expression showed a higher positivity in ADs than in SCCs.