POSTN and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: We and other groups have reported that high serum periostin levels were associated with decreased pulmonary function and shortened overall survival and time-to-event, including a greater than 5% decrease in the FVC, AE or death, and increased abnormal findings on HRCT in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) [24,25,26].