Immunohistochemical expression of integrins and extracellular matrix proteins in non-small cell lung cancer: correlation with lymph node metastasis.

Increased expression of integrins alpha5 and beta1, and lost expression of collagen matrices significantly correlated with LN metastasis of NSCLC. These findings suggested that enhanced expression of integrins and disrupted collagen stroma in NSCLC might promote tumor cell survival and invasiveness.