The prognostic impact of NF-κB p105, vimentin, E-cadherin and Par6 expression in epithelial and stromal compartment in non-small-cell lung cancer

Vimentin, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) p105, fascin, E-cadherin, TGF-beta, Par6 and atypical PKC are molecular markers that play an important role in cell differentiation. Herein, we investigate their prognostic impact in primary non-small-cell carcinoma (NSCLC). Tumour tissue samples from 335 resected patients with stage I - IIIA were used. Tissue microarrays were constructed from duplicate cores of both neoplastic cells and stromal cells and were immunohistochemically evaluated. In univariate analyses, high tumour epithelial cell expressions of NF-kappa B p105 (P = 0.02) and E-cadherin (P = 0.03) were positive prognostic indicators for disease-specific survival (DSS), whereas high tumour epithelial cell expression of vimentin (P = 0.001) was a negative prognostic indicator. High expression of NF-kappa B p105 (P = 0.001) and Par6 (P = 0.0001) in the stromal compartment correlated with a good prognosis. In multivariate analyses, the tumour epithelial cell expression of NF-kappa B p105 (P = 0.0001) and vimentin (P = 0.005) and the stromal cell expression of NF-kappa B p105 (P = 0.007) and Par6 (P = 0.0001) were independent prognostic factors for DSS. High expression of NF-kappa B p105 and low expression of vimentin in tumour epithelial cells are independent predictors of better survival in primary NSCLC. In stromal cells, high expressions of NF-kappa B p105 and Par6 are both favourable independent prognostic indicators.