Relationship between D2-40 and CCR7 Expression and lymph Lymph Node Metastasis in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between D2-40 and CCR7 expression and lymph node metastasis in Non-small cell lung cancer. MethodsD2-40 and CCR7 expression in 104 non-small cell lung cancer patients, 10 cases of with tissues adjacent to non-small cell lung cancer, and 5 normal lung tissues is identified by MAX Vision, an immunohistochemical staining technique. The lymphatic endothelial cells are meanwhile marked by D2-40 for MLVD calculation. ResultsThe MLVD counts are strongly increased in the non-small cell lung cancers compared with those in normal lung tissues ( 7.81±2.22 vs. 4.20±1.07, P<0.001). The MLVD counts of the 47 cases with lymph node positive also are higher than those of the 57 cases with lymph node negative (8.39±2.35>7.33±2.00, P<0.001). CCR7 positive rate is 82.7% (86/104) in the 104 cases of non-small cell lung cancers, 30% (3/10) in the 10 cases of pericancerous tissues, and 20% (1/5) in the 5 cases of normal lung tissues. The ratio of CCR7 in lymph nodes positive is more increased than that lymph nodes negative (87.2% vs 61.4%, χ²=87.4, P＜0.05 ). The MLVD count of CCR7 of the positive group is（8.51±2.03）, higher than that of the CCR7 of the negative group（6.01±1.59）(P<0.05). The expression of the MLVD marked by D2-40 is positively correlated to the CCR7 in the non-small cell lung cancers (coefficient of correlation, r=0.597，P<0.000). ConclusionIn non-small cell lung cancers, the increased expression of CCR7 in the lymph node metastasis positive group is positively related to the MLVD marked by D2-40. D2-40 staining is observed only in the lymphatic endothelial cells, while the increased expression of CCR7 in cancer cells is an early event of lymph node metastases. The combination of CCR7 and D2-40 measurement is likely to predict lymphatic metastases.