Prognostic significance of laminin in adenocarcinoma of the lung

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Abstract
The distribution of laminin in tumor‐associated basement membrane was immunohistochemically investigated in 115 cases of adenocarcinoma of the lung. The distribution of laminin was classified into continuous and discontinuous staining patterns. The incidence of the discontinuous pattern was less in early‐stage disease than that in advanced stages (P < 0.01). In patients with stage I, the incidence of discontinuous patterns was greater in short‐term survivors than in long‐term survivors (P < 0.05). By contrast, in patients with stage III, the discontinuous pattern of laminin was frequently seen in both long‐term survivors and short‐term survivors, with no difference between the two groups. These data suggest that the discontinuous pattern of laminin in tumor‐associated basement membrane reflects the spread and dissemination of tumor, hence a close relationship to the prognosis.