Podoplanin expression in cancerous stroma induces lymphangiogenesis and predicts lymphatic spread and patient survival.

CONTEXT: Podoplanin is a mucin-type glycoprotein and a lymphatic endothelial marker. Immunohistochemical staining for podoplanin is currently used as a routine pathologic diagnosis tool in Japan to identify lymphatic invasion of cancer cells. Recent reports suggest that podoplanin and other proangiogenic molecules are expressed in stromal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the distribution of podoplanin expression in tumor stroma and its clinical and biologic significance.

DESIGN

We performed immunohistochemistry for podoplanin on tissue microarrays from 1350 cases of 14 common cancer types.

RESULTS

Two hundred eighty-seven of 662 cases (43%) showed podoplanin expression in the stromal cells within cancer nests. Stromal podoplanin expression in 14 common cancer types was significantly associated with tumor stage (P < .001), lymph node metastases (P < .001), lymphatic invasion (P  =  .02), and venous invasion (P < .001). The stromal cells positive for podoplanin were also positive for α-smooth muscle actin but negative for desmin, confirming a myofibroblasts phenotype. In contrast, myofibroblasts in inflammatory fibrotic lung diseases were podoplanin negative. Lymphatic vessel density was greater in the stromas with podoplanin expression than in the stroma lacking podoplanin-expressing stromal cells (P  =  .01). Survival data were available for non-small cell lung cancer. Stromal podoplanin expression was associated with poorer prognosis in adenocarcinoma (P < .001) and remains statistically significant after adjustment for sex, age, and stage (P  =  .01).

CONCLUSION

Our data indicate that podoplanin expression in stromal myofibroblasts may function as a proangiogenic biomarker and may serve as a predictive marker of lymphatic/vascular spread of cancer cells and a prognostic marker of patient survival.