Tumour cells in the tumour draining vein of patients with non-small cell lung cancer: detection rate and clinical significance.

Objectives: This prospective study was performed to examine whether tumour cells are detectable in the tumour draining vein of patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Furthermore, the impact of these cells on the clinical course was analysed.

Patients And Methods: Sixty-two consecutive patients with completely resected primary non-small cell lung cancer (pT1-4 pN0-2 M0) were admitted to the study.

Overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 predicts unfavorable outcome in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

This prospective study was performed to assess the impact of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 expression on the clinical course of patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Specimens of 193 consecutive patients with completely resected NSCLC were examined for MMP-2 expression by immunohistochemical staining with a polyclonal antibody. Homogeneous immunostaining of cancer cells was considered positive and heterogeneous, or no staining was considered negative concerning overexpression of MMP-2.

The 17-1A antigen is expressed on primary, metastatic and disseminated non-small cell lung carcinoma cells.

In view of the high incidence of early distant tumor relapses in apparently completely resected (R0, M0) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there is a need for an adjuvant therapy. Considering the low tumor burden in these patients, an adjuvant therapy with monoclonal antibodies (i.e.

Reduced expression of plakoglobin indicates an unfavorable prognosis in subsets of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Plakoglobin is thought to play a key role in cadherin-mediated epithelial cell adhesion, because it is a common component of desmosomal and nondesmosomal adherens junctions. Because loss of homotypic cell adhesion is an important early step in invasion and metastasis of solid tumors, we evaluated the frequency and prognostic significance of a deficient expression of plakoglobin in human lung cancer.

Patients And Methods: At primary surgery, representative specimens of the primary tumor were obtained from 96 consecutive patients with completely resected non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) without overt distant metastases.