Across TCGA pan-cancer cohorts, FSTL3 mass-spec protein differs between tumor and matched normal tissue in 1 of 18 cancer types tested, making tumor–normal expression one of FSTL3’s most consistent transcriptional readouts.
The strongest signal is observed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC), where FSTL3 mass-spec protein is more highly expressed in tumor relative to normal tissue. In most cancer types FSTL3 is over-expressed in tumor.
HNSC are the cancer types where FSTL3 tumor–normal differential expression is most reproducible.