Transferrin Receptor Expression in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung as a Histopathologic Indicator of Prognosis

Immunohistochemical reactivity with OKT9 (antitransferrin receptor) monoclonal antibody was studied in 58 surgically resected adenocarcinomas of the lung. The cell surface and cytoplasm of the tumor cells were stained in 44 cases (76 percent). The expression of the transferrin receptor (TrfR) in tumor cells was compared with histopathologic prognostic factors, such as TNM factors, degree of histologic differentiation, degree of nuclear atypia, and frequency of mitotic figures. The expression of TrfR showed significant correlation with the degree of histopathologic differentiation (p