Immunohistochemical analysis of NANOG expression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma

• Published in: Oncology letters 2017-05, Vol.13 (5), p.3695-3702
• Main Authors: Tamaki, Takeshi, Shimizu, Toshiki, Niki, Maiko, Shimizu, Michiomi, Nishizawa, Tohru, Nomura, Shosaku
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1792-1074; 1792-1082
• DOI: 10.3892/ol.2017.5864

Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinomas (PSCs) are defined as a group of poorly differentiated non-small cell lung cancers that demonstrate sarcoma-like differentiation. The mechanism of mesenchymal differentiation in PSC is epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The expression of homeobox protein NANOG (NANOG), which regulates the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, is associated with the EMT process. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the expression level of NANOG and the status of the EMT process in PSC. The data of patients with PSC were retrospectively reviewed and immunohistochemical analyses were performed on patient samples to examine the expression of NANOG and EMT-associated proteins. The comparator group included randomly selected patients with matched clinicopathological characteristics who had pulmonary adenocarcinoma (PA). In the present study, 12 patients with PSC (4 females and 8 males) were enrolled; their median age was 65 years (range, 36-79 years), and the number of patients with stage IB, IIB, IIIA, IIIB and IV disease were 1, 1, 1, 1 and 8, respectively. The immunoreactive score (IRS) for E-cadherin was significantly lower in the PSC group compared with the PA group (P