No abstract

The cancer cells with bronchioalveolar stem cells phenotype are detectable in adenocarcinoma of the lung and the expression of self-renewal regulatory gene OCT4 in these cells indicated the worse clinical outcomes.

OCT4 and Bmi-1 may be good biomarkers to predict the prognosis of patients with completely resected lung adenocarcinoma.

The refractory pulmonary adenocarcinoma is characterized by its metastasis and resistance to cytotoxic agents. While the underlying molecular mechanism is unclear, the property of chemoresistance may mainly lie in the presence of highly resistant cancer stem cells. We examined the function of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in maintaining cancer stem cells (CSCs) in lung adenocarcinoma. Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of β-catenin expression accelerated cell cycle. Subsequently, β-catenin knockdown PC9 cells improve the sensitivity to chemotherapy. Further focusing on Wnt signal by administrating PP and EGFR-TKIs as Wnt antagonists can decrease metastasis and induce apoptosis. Collectively, these results indicate that Wnt signaling pathway plays an essential role in maintaining highly resistant CSCs, regulation of cell cycle, metastasis and apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma.

Elevated serum CEA levels predict the presence of EGFR gene mutations in Chinese nonsmokers with pulmonary adenocarcinoma.