PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sandra Gottschling
AU  - Katrin Jensen
AU  - Arne Warth
AU  - Felix J.F. Herth
AU  - Michael Thomas
AU  - Philipp A. Schnabel
AU  - Esther Herpel
TI  - <em>Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4</em> is expressed in basaloid lung cancer and associated with poor prognosis
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.00225711
DP  - 2013 Mar 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 656--663
VI  - 41
IP  - 3
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/41/3/656.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/41/3/656.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2013 Mar 01; 41
AB  - Basaloid carcinoma represents a rare variant of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which has shown a poor prognosis in a number of studies. Although it is considered to derive from a pluri- or multipotent pulmonary stem cells, little is known about the expression and clinical significance of stem cell antigens in this variant. Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4) was analysed by immunohistochemistry in 38 patients with resected early-stage basaloid NSCLC who had a median follow-up of 72.9 months. The expression of SSEA-4 was related to clinico-pathological characteristics, to the expression of the adult stem cell antigens CD117, CD133 and breast cancer resistance protein 1 (BCRP1), and to prognosis. SSEA-4 was positive in 37% of the specimens and showed no association with clinico-pathological characteristics or the expression of adult stem cell antigens. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed a 6.0-fold increased risk of relapse (p = 0.001) and a 4.2-fold increased risk of disease-related mortality (p = 0.017) in SSEA-4-positive patients, while SSEA-4-negative patients showed a prognosis comparable with that of other early-stage NSCLC. SSEA-4 is expressed in a fraction of basaloid NSCLC and is associated with poor prognosis.