Autocrine motility factor in pulmonary adenocarcinomas: results of an immunohistochemical study

Autocrine motility factors (AMF) have been shown to play an important role in tumor cell migration and metastasis. We have detected AMF expression in tissue specimens from 119 patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma and examined the relationship between AMF expression, clinicopathological factors and prognosis. AMF expression was correlated with lymph node metastasis and stage. The prognosis of AMF-positive patients was poorer than that of AMF-negative patients. The expression of AMF correlated with more tumor aggressiveness and worse prognosis in pulmonary adenocarcinomas.