The presence of Merkel cells and CD10- and CD34-positive stromal cells compared in benign and malignant oral tumors.
BACKGROUND
To describe sequential changes in Merkel cells (MC), and CD10(+) and CD34(+) stromal cells (SC) during the transition from benign to malignant oral lesions and correlate with clinicopathologic parameters.


METHODS
Changes in cytokeratin 20-positive (CK20(+)) Merkel cells, CD10(+) and CD34(+) SC were immunohistochemically examined in specimens of 28 oral verrucous carcinomas (VC), 32 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and 36 benign squamous lesions (BSL). Immunoreactivity and localized inflammation were measured quantitatively and/or semiquantitatively, and between-group results were statistically compared.


RESULTS
The mean number of CD34(+) SC was significantly lower in VC (57.36) and SCC (33.81) than BSL (351.56, P < 0.001). However, the three tumor types had similar staining level and number of CD10(+) SC. We found a significant difference in the density of MC between BSL and VC (P < 0.001) or SCC (P < 0.001). The number of CK20(+) MC was significantly lower in highly inflamed specimens than mildly inflamed specimens (P = 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
CD34(+) SC and to a lesser extent MC, but not CD10(+) SC, reveal statistically different density during the transition from benign to malignant oral lesions. The correlations between the CD34(+) SC expression and squamous lesions may be associated with epithelial dysplasia and/or tumor invasion.
Gao
H W
HW
Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ho
J Y
JY
Lee
H S
HS
Yu
C P
CP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology; D018289:Carcinoma, Verrucous / Q000473:pathology; D002452:Cell Count; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology; D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053554:Keratin-20 / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D018862:Merkel Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015260:Neprilysin / Q000032:analysis*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
D018952:Antigens, CD34; D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D053554:Keratin-20; D015260:Neprilysin