TY - JOUR AB - 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. AD - Department of Cardio‑Thoracic Surgery, Zhoushan Hospital, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316000, P.R. China Department of Pathology, Zhoushan Hospital, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316000, P.R. China AU - Chen,Cheng AU - Li,Wu-Jun AU - Weng,Jing-Jing AU - Chen,Zhi-Jun AU - Wen,Yuan-Yuan AU - Deng,Tao AU - Le,Han-Bo AU - Zhang,Yong-Kui AU - Zhang,Bin-Jie DA - 2020/11/01 DO - 10.3892/ol.2020.11991 IS - 5 JO - Oncol Lett KW - adenocarcinoma in situ cancer‑associated fibroblasts lymphatic vessel density matrix metalloproteinase‑9 minimally invasive adenocarcinoma PY - 2020 SN - 1792-1074 1792-1082 SP - 130 ST - Cancer‑associated fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinase‑9 and lymphatic vessel density are associated with progression from adenocarcinoma in situ to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung T2 - Oncology Letters TI - Cancer‑associated fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinase‑9 and lymphatic vessel density are associated with progression from adenocarcinoma in situ to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11991 VL - 20 ER -