The prognostic significance of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 in non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract

BackgroundFibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) has been proved to be correlated with progression and prognosis in many cancers. However, the significance of FGFR4 in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still not well elucidated.MethodsIn our experiment, we detected FGFR4 expression in 237 samples of NSCLC with immunohistochemistry, and further analyzed the correlation between FGFR4 and clinicopathologic features of NSCLC with chi-square test. Moreover, we evaluated the prognostic value of FGFR4 by Kaplan–Meier survival curve and Cox regression model. By regulating the expression of FGFR4 by overexpression or knockdown, we assessed the role of FGFR4 on NSCLC cell proliferation.ResultsFGFR4 expression was high in NSCLC (46.8%, 111/237). FGFR4 expression was significantly associated with tumor diameter (P=0.039). With univariate (P=0.009) and multivariate (P=0.002) analysis, FGFR4 was identified as an independent prognostic factor in NSCLC (P=0.009). Moreover, FGFR4 can promote the proliferation of NSCLC cell lines.ConclusionFGFR4 is an independent prognostic biomarker in NSCLC. FGFR4 can accelerate the proliferation of NSCLC cell lines, indicating FGFR4 could be a potential drug target of NSCLC.

Prognostic implications of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 polymorphisms in primary breast cancer

“…An impact of FGFR4 on prognosis has been found in certain other cancers, including gastric, lung, and colorectal cancers. Exhibiting reliable prognostic values, cancer patients with high FGFR4 expression had significantly shorter survival time than those with low FGFR4 expression . Our data also demonstrated that breast cancer patients with high FGFR4 expression had worse outcomes (Figure ).…”

“…The FGFR4 SNP rs351855, corresponding to the Gly388Arg substitution, is an important polymorphism that is biologically functional and can affect the transmembrane domain of the protein . FGFR4 is overexpressed in many cancers, including gastric cancer, non‐small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer . In this study, we found that rs351855 is associated with up‐regulation of FGFR4 protein expression.…”

“…Expression of FGFR4 was evaluated by multiplying the intensity (0: no staining, 1: weak staining, 2: moderate staining, 3: strong staining) with the percent reactivity extension values (<10% = 0, 10‐30% = 1, 30‐50% = 2, >50% = 3). Scores of <4 were categorised as low expression, and the remainder were categorised as high expression . All staining was scored by the original two pathologists and a senior pathologist.…”

“…Scores of <4 were categorised as low expression, and the remainder were categorised as high expression. 22 All staining was scored by the original two pathologists and a senior pathologist.…”

Different clinical significance of FGFR1–4 expression between diffuse-type and intestinal-type gastric cancer

“…However, FGFR4 protein was not significantly associated with clinicopathological factors such as tumor depth or lymph-node metastasis [16, 18]. FGFR4 protein overexpression was shown to be an independent prognostic factor in non-small cell lung cancer [19] and colorectal cancer [20]. In addition, the FGFR4 Arg388 allele, leading to high FGFR protein expression, correlated with shorter survival in GC [21].…”