While CKLF-like MARVEL transmembrane domain containing 6 (CMTM6)'s role in stabilizing PD-L1 and immune evasion within tumors is established, its expression in lung cancer tissue and adjacent macrophages remains uncertain. The study aimed to elucidate this ambiguity by investigating CMTM6's role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prognosis. Employing immunohistochemical staining on 141 NSCLC and 110 adjacent normal lung tissue samples, CMTM6 expression was evaluated using the HSCORE system. Interestingly, NSCLC exhibited significantly higher CMTM6 levels (161.04±86.60) compared to normal tissues (71.20±45.10) (p < 0.001), detected not only in cancer cells but also in macrophages, lymphocytes, and nearby bronchial epithelial cells. Stratifying patients by CMTM6 levels unveiled a correlation between heightened expression and poorer overall survival (p = 0.003), alongside a link to tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) (p = 0.037), especially in cases with increased TIL. Multivariate analysis identified CMTM6 as an independent predictor of overall survival (p = 0.009), implying that elevated CMTM6 expression in NSCLC might signify an adverse prognostic marker for patient outcomes.

中文翻译：

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CMTM6：非小细胞肺癌的关键预后指标

虽然 CKLF 样 MARVEL 跨膜结构域包含 6 (CMTM6) 在肿瘤内稳定 PD-L1 和免疫逃避中的作用已确定，但其在肺癌组织和邻近巨噬细胞中的表达仍不确定。该研究旨在通过调查 CMTM6 在非小细胞肺癌 (NSCLC) 预后中的作用来阐明这种模糊性。对 141 个 NSCLC 和 110 个邻近正常肺组织样本进行免疫组织化学染色，使用 HSCORE 系统评估 CMTM6 表达。有趣的是，与正常组织 (71.20±45.10) (71.20±45.10) 相比，NSCLC 表现出显着更高的 CMTM6 水平 (161.04±86.60) ( p < 0.001)，不仅在癌细胞中检测到，还在巨噬细胞、淋巴细胞和附近的支气管上皮细胞中检测到。按 CMTM6 水平对患者进行分层揭示了表达升高与总体生存率较差之间的相关性 ( p = 0.003)，以及与肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞 (TIL) 的联系 ( p = 0.037)，特别是在 TIL 增加的情况下。多变量分析确定 CMTM6 是总生存期的独立预测因子 ( p = 0.009)，这意味着 NSCLC 中 CMTM6 表达升高可能意味着患者预后不良的标志物。