Open Access

Cancer‑associated fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinase‑9 and lymphatic vessel density are associated with progression from adenocarcinoma in situ to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung

  • Authors:
    • Cheng Chen
    • Wu-Jun Li
    • Jing-Jing Weng
    • Zhi-Jun Chen
    • Yuan-Yuan Wen
    • Tao Deng
    • Han-Bo Le
    • Yong-Kui Zhang
    • Bin-Jie Zhang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: August 20, 2020     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11991
  • Article Number: 130
  • Copyright: © Chen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

Metrics: Total Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )


Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the roles of cancer‑associated fibroblasts (CAFs), matrix metalloproteinase‑9 (MMP‑9) and lymphatic vessel density (LVD) during the progression from adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) to invasive lung adenocarcinoma (IAC). A total of 77 patients with stage 0‑IA lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled. The expression levels of α‑smooth muscle actin, MMP‑9 and D2‑40 were immunohistochemically analyzed. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan‑Meier method. In the non‑invasive component, the proportion of CAFs and the expression levels of MMP‑9 increased from AIS to IAC; however, the LVD was not significantly different. CAFs were positively correlated with levels of MMP‑9. The LVD had no significant correlation with CAFs and MMP‑9. In the invasive component, CAFs, MMP‑9 and LVD were significantly higher in IAC compared with in minimally invasive adenocarcinoma. CAFs, MMP‑9 and LVD were all positively correlated with each other. The micropapillary subtype in IAC was associated with overall survival (OS). The LVD in IAC, but not MMP‑9 and CAFs, was associated with OS. CAFs, MMP‑9 and LVD were involved in the progression from AIS to IAC. CAFs exhibited a strong association with MMP‑9 levels in the non‑invasive and invasive components. The increase in the proportion of CAFs and the expression levels of MMP‑9 may have been an early event before the adenocarcinoma became invasive. Once the adenocarcinoma was invasive, the LVD served an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis, and hence may be used as a prognostic marker of poor OS in stage IA IAC.
View Figures
View References

Related Articles

Journal Cover

November-2020
Volume 20 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

Sign up for eToc alerts

Recommend to Library

Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
Chen C, Li W, Weng J, Chen Z, Wen Y, Deng T, Le H, Zhang Y and Zhang B: Cancer‑associated fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinase‑9 and lymphatic vessel density are associated with progression from adenocarcinoma <em>in&nbsp;situ</em> to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung. Oncol Lett 20: 130, 2020
APA
Chen, C., Li, W., Weng, J., Chen, Z., Wen, Y., Deng, T. ... Zhang, B. (2020). Cancer‑associated fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinase‑9 and lymphatic vessel density are associated with progression from adenocarcinoma <em>in&nbsp;situ</em> to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung. Oncology Letters, 20, 130. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11991
MLA
Chen, C., Li, W., Weng, J., Chen, Z., Wen, Y., Deng, T., Le, H., Zhang, Y., Zhang, B."Cancer‑associated fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinase‑9 and lymphatic vessel density are associated with progression from adenocarcinoma <em>in&nbsp;situ</em> to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung". Oncology Letters 20.5 (2020): 130.
Chicago
Chen, C., Li, W., Weng, J., Chen, Z., Wen, Y., Deng, T., Le, H., Zhang, Y., Zhang, B."Cancer‑associated fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinase‑9 and lymphatic vessel density are associated with progression from adenocarcinoma <em>in&nbsp;situ</em> to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung". Oncology Letters 20, no. 5 (2020): 130. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11991