title: Oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma shares clinical and histological features with angiosarcoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  acantholytic squamous cell carcinomas (ASCC) and intraoral angiosarcoma share similar histopathological features. Aim of this study was to find marker for a clear distinction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinomas and one intraoral angiosarcoma are used to compare the eruptive intraoral growth-pattern, age-peak, unfavourable prognosis and slit-like intratumorous spaces in common histological staining as identical clinical and histopathological features. Immunohistochemical staining for pancytokeratin, cytokeratin, collagen type IV, gamma2-chain of laminin-5, endothelial differentiation marker CD31 and CD34, F VIII-associated antigen, Ki 67-antigen, beta-catenin, E-cadherin, alpha-smooth-muscle-actin and Fli-1 were done.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cytokeratin-immunoreactive cells can be identified in both lesions. The large vascularization of ASCC complicates the interpretation of vascular differential markers being characteristic for angiosarcoma. Loss of cell-cell-adhesion, monitored by loss of E-cadherin and beta-catenin membrane-staining, are indetified as reasons for massive expression of invasion-factor ln-5 in ASCC and considered responsible for unfavourable prognosis of ASCC. Expression of Fli-1 in angiosarcoma and cellular immunoreaction for ln-5 in ASCC are worked out as distinguishing features of both entities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fli-1 in angiosarcoma and ln-5 in ASCC are distinguishing features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. oliver.driemel@klinik.uni-regensburg.de
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Driemel
authors.forename: Urs D A
authors.initials: UD
authors.lastname: Müller-Richter
authors.forename: Samer G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hakim
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berndt
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kleinheinz
authors.forename: Torsten E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Reichert
authors.forename: Hartwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kosmehl
mesh_terms: D000051:Acantholysis; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*