Expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and L-selection in lung carcinoma and their clinical significance

Objective To investigate the roles of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) and L-selectin in the metastasis and progression of lung carcinoma.Methods ICAM-1 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in the cancer tissues from 48 patients with lung cancer and serum levels of ICAM-1 and L-selectin were measured using ELISA in 48 patients with lung cancer,18 with benign lung diseases,and 20 healthy controls.Results ICAM-1 expression was significantly higher in the patients with Ⅲ to Ⅳ disease and lymph node metastasis than those with Ⅰ to Ⅱ disease but no lymph node involvement and it was higher in adenocarcinoma than in squamous cell carcinoma.Serum levels of ICAM-1 and L-selectin were markedly higher in the patients with lung cancer or benign diseases than in the controls while ICAM-1 level was significantly higher in the patients with lung cancer than in those with benign diseases.There were significant differences in levels of ICAM-1 and L-selectin between the patients with Ⅲ to Ⅳ disease or with metastasis and those with Ⅰ to Ⅱ disease or with no metastasis.Conclusions ICAM-1 may be associated with the development and metastasis of lung cancer.Serum levels of ICAM-1 and L-selectin can be used as one of the indicators for preoperative diagnosis and postoperative evaluation of lung cancer.