Gene expression profiling and molecular pathway analysis for the identification of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma patients at risk for early recurrence

Clinicohistopathological staging is insufficient to predict disease progression and clinical outcome in lung carcinoma. Based on the results of the principal component analysis of 24 samples of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma, two subgroups were identified within the early-relapse group. The histological classification of all samples of group A was poorly differentiated, whereas one out of three in group B was poorly differentiated. DAVID functional annotation analysis revealed that the molecular pathways enriched in group A included those associated with cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), cell cycle and antigen processing and presentation, whereas those in group B included CAMs, T cell receptor signaling, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, toll-like receptor signaling, chemokine signaling, primary immunodeficiency and natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity. The CAM pathway was enriched in both groups. This comprehensive gene expression and functional pathway analysis identified a distinct molecular pathway, CAMs, that correlated with the early relapse of patients with early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.