TSP-2 expression was negatively associated with cancer cell proliferation and MMP-9 expression, whereas 4N1K-peptide was significantly associated with apoptosis, angiogenesis, and MMP-9 expression.
Further study on the mechanism underlying the activity of THBS2 is warranted to have further implications for cancer diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary AC.
Based on our findings, thrombospondin-1 (and not thrombospondin-2) may be considered as a target for antibody-based pharmacodelivery strategies, in consideration of its low expression in normal tissues and its upregulation in cancer.
TSP-2 expression was significantly higher in malignancies exhibiting cervical and lymph-vascular space involvement (p=0.029 and p=0.009, respectively).