Expression of Caveolin-1 in Pleomorphic Carcinoma of the Lung is Correlated with a Poor Prognosis

Abstract

Background: Caveolin-1 is implicated in the oncogenic transformation of cells as a tumor suppressor. In several human carcinomas, the expression of caveolin-1 has been reported to be correlated with prognosis. The present study was designed to clarify the clinicopathological significance of caveolin-1 expression in pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung (PCL). Patients and Methods: Twenty-one cases of PCL were immunohistochemically evaluated for caveolin-1 expression. Results: Caveolin-1 was expressed in 18 out of 21 cases. Patients with high caveolin-1 expression in PCL showed lower disease-free and overall survival rates than those with low caveolin-1 expression. However, the expression level of caveolin-1 in PCL was not significantly correlated with age, stage, pT category, pN category, or tumor size. Conclusion: These results suggest that the overexpression of caveolin-1 is significantly correlated with a poor prognosis in patients with PCL and that it is a marker for predicting prognosis in PCL.