TPO protein and mRNA expression in 5 NSCLC cell lines and normal bronchial epithelial HBE cells was examined, showing that TPO expression was increased in A549, H1299, SK‐MES‐1 and H292 cells compared to that in HBE cells but was weakly expressed in H460 cells (Figure 2A,B). Here, TPO is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.