Expression of PDGF, IGF-II, bFGF and TGF-beta 1 in pulmonary adenocarcinoma

Effects of the expression of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 were studied individually and in combinations with the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma using paraffin embedded tissue specimens. Tumor sections from 90 patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma were stained immunohistochemically for PDGF, IGF-II, bFGF and TGF-beta 1 by the ABC method. The survival rate was worse in patients in whom each of the four growth factors was expressed than in those where growth factors were not expressed. The reduced expression of the four growth factors correlated with less tumor aggressiveness and better prognosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.