Fig. 1

The increasing number of CAF positively correlates with the upregulation of mesenchymal phenotype of LECs in CSCC. A Staining for α-SMA (CAF marker) and LYVE-1 (lymphatic marker) in serial sections of CSCC specimens. The lymphatic vessels are indicated by red arrows. B Representative images of LYVE-1 (green) and α-SMA (red) fluorescence staining in CSCC (20 samples with LNM; 37 samples without LNM) under 400 × magnification. Blue indicates the nucleus. C Correlations between CAFs and lymphatic vessel density were analysed. D The correlation between α-SMA⁺LYVE-1⁺ vessels and CAFs (α-SMA marker). E The correlation between α-SMA⁺LYVE-1.⁺ vessels and lymphatic vessel density. *p < 0.05