Expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin in small bronchioloalveolar adenocarcinoma of the lung: assessment and comparison with noguchi criteria.
The Noguchi criteria are useful in assessing the prognosis of patients with small lung adenocarcinoma. Although there is a significant difference in prognosis between type A or B and type C, it is difficult in some cases to distinguish these types accurately by microscopy. In this study, we used immunohistochemistry to examine alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) produced by active fibroblasts in 25 pulmonary adenocarcinomas less than 2 cm in diameter. Eleven of type C (61%) showed positive staining for alpha-SMA, whereas no positive cases were seen in type A or B. The incidence of cancerous blood vessel and lymphatic invasion were significantly higher in alpha-SMA positive cases than in negative cases, and the positive cases showed poorer prognosis. These findings indicate that immunohistochemical detection of alpha-SMA is useful and essential for histological typing by the Noguchi criteria.
Sato
M
M
Surgery I, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-8513, Japan.
Ozeki
Y
Y
Aida
S
S
Oshika
Y
Y
Deguchi
H
H
Ono
K
K
Haraguchi
S
S
Ogata
T
T
Tanaka
S
S
D000199:Actins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic
D000199:Actins; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor