Immunohistochemical Staining and Scoring

IHC was performed as described previously 11 (link), and scoring of the tissue microarray was independently completed by two pathologists who had no knowledge of the patients' clinical data. The staining intensity was scored as follows: 0 (Negative); 1 (Light brown); 2 (Brown); and 3 (Dark brown). The proportion of positive-stained cells was scored as follows: 0-10%, 0; 11-25%, 1; 26-50%, 2; 51-75%, 3; and 75-100%, 4. IHC staining total scores were obtained by multiplying the intensity score by the proportion score. We defined high expression as a total score of greater than or equal to 6 points, with other scores defined it low expression. The antibody against PRL-3 was diluted 1:100 (ab50276, Abcam, Cambridge, UK). Other antibodies used for IHC staining included those against the proteins FAK (1:150, #71433, Cell Signaling Technology, MA, USA), p-FAK (1:100, YP0739, ImmunoWay, USA), and TGFB1(1:200, YT4632, ImmunoWay, USA).