Expression of desmoglein 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 desmoglein 3 (DSG3) as a distinguishing transcriptional feature of squamous cell lung carcinomas, suggesting the biology of DSG3 may be relevant to the pathways critical for the development or maintenance of squamous cell lung carcinomas but not of adenocarcinomas. DSG3 expression was significantly correlated with prognosis of patients with NSCLC, with patients expressing low levels of DSG3 possessing significantly longer median overall survival. These analyses will also provide novel tools for diagnostic approaches and for guidance of treatment regimens for a cancer with dismal outlook.