Expression of ceramide synthase 3 in non-small cell lung carcinoma distinguishes squamous cell lung carcinoma from adenocarcinoma.
Non-small cell lung cancer, classified as adenocarcinomas or squamous cell lung carcinomas, is the major cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide (1). To understand the most significant transcriptional differences between adenocarcinomas and squamous cell lung carcinomas, we mined published microarray data from two separate studies (2, 3). We identified ceramide synthase 3 (CERS3) as a distinguishing transcriptional feature of squamous cell lung carcinomas, suggesting the biology of CERS3 may be relevant to the pathways critical for the development or maintenance of squamous cell lung carcinomas but not of adenocarcinomas. CERS3 expression was significantly correlated with prognosis of patients with NSCLC, as patients with low tumor expression of CERS3 possessed significantly longer median overall survival than those with high tumor expression of CERS3. These analyses will also provide novel tools for diagnostic approaches and for guidance of treatment regimens for a cancer with dismal outlook.