Open AccessPrognostic role of macrophage migration inhibitory factor expression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung
Author(s) -
Koh Hyun Min,
Kim Dong Chul,
Kim Yumin,
Song Dae Hyun
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
thoracic cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1759-7714
pISSN - 1759-7706
DOI - 10.1111/1759-7714.13198
Subject(s) - medicine , macrophage migration inhibitory factor , basal cell , squamous cell carcinoma of the lung , lung , macrophage , oncology , cancer research , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , risk factor , cell , in vitro , cytokine , biochemistry , chemistry , biology , genetics
Background Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been shown to play an important role in the inflammatory and immune response in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Recent studies have reported that MIF is involved in the tumorigenesis and overexpressed in various cancers. In this study, we assessed the prognostic role of MIF expression in SCC of the lung, and demonstrated the effect of knockdown of MIF on the migration in lung SCC cell lines. Methods The relationship between MIF expression and clinicopathological parameters and the prognostic role of MIF expression were evaluated with immunohistochemical staining in 96 patients with SCC of the lung. The expression of MIF mRNA and protein was analyzed by semi‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot in lung SCC cell. The effect of knockdown of MIF was assessed by wound healing assay. Results The high percentage of MIF‐positive cells was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.004), and was a poor prognostic factor of disease‐free survival (DFS) (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.125; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.628–5.998; P = 0.001) and disease‐specific survival (DSS) (HR: 2.303; 95% CI, 1.172–4.525; P = 0.016). Moreover, Kaplan‐Meier analysis showed that SCC patients with a high percentage of MIF‐positive cells had a significantly lower DFS ( P = 0.001) and DSS ( P = 0.014) than those with a low percentage. Furthermore, wound healing assay revealed that knockdown of MIF resulted in decreased cellular migration. Conclusion MIF is closely associated with tumor progression and could be a prognostic factor in SCC of the lung.