Elevated proportion of collapsed microvessels indicate poor survival outcome in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Background: An integral and well-functioning vascular system is essential for tumor progression and chemotherapy infusion. However, the lumen integrity of the microvessels and its significance in prognosis has not been studied. In this study, we found that the proportion of collapsed microvessels is suggested to be a novel biomarker for predicting prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: In this study, immunohistochemical CD31 staining was performed to identify the microvessels in tumor specimens. Proportions of collapsed vessels were estimated in CD31-stained tumor specimens from 100 patients with NSCLC. The correlation between collapsed microvessel proportion and survival time were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Data from 99 patients were analyzed and a wide range of collapse–microvessel fraction was observed in 96 patients (1.4%–70%). Elevated collapse proportion (⩾6.5%) indicated poor overall survival in both univariate analysis (p = 0.042) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.014). Conclusions: Elevated proportion of collapsed microvessels indicted poor survival outcome in patients with NSCLC.