We investigated whether the expression of transforming growth factor-beta-induced protein (TGFBI) and intratumoral immune cells including CD8- and Forkhead box protein P3 (Foxp3)-positive T cells in clinical lung cancer patients could predict the therapeutic response to nivolumab.
It has been proved that βig-h3 is highly expressed in human lung cancer and colorectal cancer cells, and thus it is considered to have the same effect on gastric cancer cells.
Transforming growth factor β‑induced (TGFBI) has been implicated as a tumor suppressor, which enhances gemcitabine chemosensitivity in lung cancer cells.
An analysis correlating gene methylation status with clinicopathological cancer features revealed that dense methylation of the TGFBI promoter was associated with a metastatic phenotype, with 42.9% (6/14) of metastatic lung cancer samples demonstrating dense methylation vs. only 5.6% (2/36) of primary lung cancer samples (p < 0.05).