Expression of AGR2 in non small cell lung cancer

We aimed to evaluate immunohistochemically the expression of the human Anterior Gradient-2 (AGR2), a gene which has recently been proposed as an oncogene for lung carcinoma development, in non small cell lung cancer and to correlate the findings to clinico-pathological data including patient survival. 95 cases of NSCLC were immunostained using a polyclonal AGR2 antibody and statistical analyses were applied to test for prognostic and diagnostic associations. AGR2 was expressed in 66.3% of cases, preferentially adenocarcinomas. There were no relevant associations with clinico-pathological parameters. A prognostic value of AGR2 could not be demonstrated neither in multivariate nor in univariate analyses. Interestingly, this is the first study to demonstrate AGR2 expression in squamous cell carcinomas. Although a prognostic value of AGR2 seems unlikely further studies are warranted to investigate the biological role of AGR2 in NSCLC and its differential expression according to histology.