title: Spindle-cell carcinoma of the aerodigestive tract. An immunohistochemical analysis of 21 cases.
abstract: Immunohistochemical analysis of 21 prototypic mucosal spindle-cell carcinomas of the aerodigestive tract was performed at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) to establish the usefulness of selected immunohistochemical markers in distinguishing spindle-cell carcinoma from other mucosal spindle-cell neoplasms. Immunoreactive keratin could be demonstrated in only 13/21 (62%) of cases. Coexpression of keratin and vimentin was demonstrated in 10/17 (59%) of the tumors evaluated for both of these intermediate filaments. All spindle-cell carcinomas lacked S100 protein, which is an immunoreactivity we would expect to find in spindle-cell malignant melanoma, one of the principal considerations in a differential diagnosis. Both alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) and alpha-1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) were demonstrated in the tumor cells in all cases. However, albumin had a similar distribution in the tumors, which suggested that passive uptake was a serious confusing factor. The results of this study indicate that AAT and ACT are unreliable markers for distinguishing spindle-cell carcinomas from malignant fibrous histiocytomas.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009113:Muramidase / Q000276:immunology; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000276:immunology; D014746:Vimentin / Q000276:immunology; D000514:alpha 1-Antichymotrypsin / Q000276:immunology; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D009418:S100 Proteins; D012709:Serum Albumin; D014746:Vimentin; D000514:alpha 1-Antichymotrypsin; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin; D007633:Keratins; D009113:Muramidase