Prognostic Significance of Stromal Periostin Expression in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The microenvironment of solid tumours is significant in cancer development and progression. The aim of this study was to determine periostin (POSTN) expression by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as to assess associations with clinicopathological factors and prognosis.

Immunohistochemical analysis of POSTN expression was performed on NSCLC (N = 700) and non-malignant lung tissue (NMLT) (N = 110) using tissue microarrays. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) for isolation of stromal and cancer cells of NSCLC was employed, and subsequently, POSTN mRNA expression was detected by real-time PCR. Immunofluorescence reaction and colocalisation analysis were performed by confocal microscopy.

Expression of POSTN in CAFs was significantly higher in NSCLC and in the adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) subtypes compared to NMLT. POSTN expression in CAFs increased with clinical cancer stage, grades (G) of malignancy, and lymph node involvement in NSCLC. Higher POSTN expression in CAFs was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (OS). LCM confirmed significantly higher POSTN mRNA expression in the stromal cells (CAFs) compared to the lung cancer cells.

POSTN produced by CAFs might be crucial for NSCLC progression and can be an independent negative prognostic factor in NSCLC.