title: The Das-1 immunostain is useful for discriminating metastatic colon adenocarcinoma from cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: The distinction between cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastasis is important but at times difficult solely on microscopic appearances. The Das-1 immunostain exhibits specificity for colonic epithelium. However, its staining of cholangiocarcinomas and hepatocellular carcinomas has not been extensively studied. We evaluated the staining properties of the Das-1 immunostain in cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. Forty-four cholangiocarcinomas, 16 hepatocellular carcinomas, 17 colon adenocarcinomas metastatic to the liver and 3 benign biliary tumors were studied. The cases were stained with the Das-1 antibody following deparaffinization and rehydration. The slides were evaluated for membranous and/or cytoplasmic staining in a blinded fashion. The percentage of tumor cells exhibiting strong staining was estimated. Of the intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinomas, 4 of 36 (11%) and 2 of 16 (13%) hepatocellular carcinomas were positive for Das-1, though typically only in rare cells. In comparison, 7 of 8 (88%) extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinomas, 13 of 17 (77%) of metastatic colon carcinomas and 3 of 3 (100%) benign tumors of the biliary tract were strongly positive in a diffuse pattern. The Das-1 immunostain may play a useful role in evaluating liver malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology W-547, Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. robertz@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Kiron M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fogt
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Murakata
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary; D000906:Antibodies; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000473:pathology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000556:secondary
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C467479:DAS-1 protein, human