title: Immunohistochemistry of desmin and vimentin in smooth muscle tumors of the digestive tract.
abstract: The expression of desmin and vimentin in 35 "smooth muscle tumors" of the digestive tract was investigated using formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded materials and the indirect immunoperoxidase method. Fourteen of 15 esophageal tumors and two of 15 gastric tumors were categorized as benign leiomyoma with low cellularity, and immunohistochemically were desmin-positive and vimentin-negative as were normal muscle layers of the digestive tract. The remaining tumors showed moderate to high cellularity: Six tumors seemed to be malignant on the basis of frequent mitosis and/or nuclear atypia, while 11 were considered to be of borderline malignancy. This cellular tumor group exhibited consistent vimentin immunoreactivity, but desmin was negative or only weakly and/or focally positive. S-100 protein was fundamentally negative in these tumors. The pitfalls of studying desmin immunohistochemistry as a routine diagnostic tool in surgical pathology are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsutsumi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kubo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003893:Desmin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004067:Digestive System Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009130:Muscle, Smooth; D009379:Neoplasms, Muscle Tissue / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003893:Desmin; D014746:Vimentin