Fig. 1

Evaluation of sympathetic nerve density (SND) and nerve growth factor (NGF) expression. (a) Figures show sympathetic nerves in non-tumor tissue stained with anti–neurofilament-L (NF-L) and anti–tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) antibodies. Arrows point to stained sympathetic nerves. The two slides were made from consecutive sections. Scale bars are 100 μm. (b) Sympathetic nerves of tumor tissue stained with anti-TH antibodies. Arrows point to stained sympathetic nerves. Scale bars are 100 μm. (c) Scatter plots showing the correlation between SND in non-tumor versus tumor tissue. The correlation was analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. (d) Positive staining in the cytoplasm of cancer cells. NGF immunostaining expression was scored as 0, 1+, 2+, or 3 + according to staining intensity. Scale bars are 100 μm. (e) Boxplot shows a comparison of SND by NGF expression level. Circled markers indicate patients with values more than 1.5 times the interquartile range value. The results were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test.