[Tumor infiltrating dendritic cells in relation to prognosis of lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE

To study the degree of infiltration of dendritic cells in lung cancer in relation to prognosis.

METHODS

S-100 protein as the marker of tumor-infiltraing dendritic cells (TIDC) was stained immunohistochemically in lung cancer specimens. The degree of infiltration was considered mild and marked according to the criteria reported by Furukawa. The survival rate was obtained by Log-rank test of the data.

RESULTS

In 15 of 38 adenocarcinomas, whose TIDC infiltration was marked, the five-year survival rate was 60.0%, while in 23 with mild TIDC infiltration, the five-year survival rate was 21.7% (P < 0.01) Quite similar data were obtained from 44 squamous-cell carcinomas. Significantly higher five-year survival rate (61.1%) was observed in those with marked TIDC than those with mild infiltration (19.2%).

CONCLUSION

The degree of TIDC infiltration is positively correlated with the survival rate of lung carcinoma patients.