title: CD138 (syndecan-1) expression in bone-forming tumors.
abstract: CD138 (syndecan-1), a cell surface proteoglycan, is sensitive and specific for plasmacytic differentiation in hematologic disorders. Expression of CD138 has been observed in a majority of epithelial neoplasms and, rarely, soft tissue tumors. However, its expression in bone tumors has not been evaluated. We studied CD138 expression in 27 osteosarcomas, 12 benign bone-forming tumors (osteoid osteoma and osteoblastoma), and 17 reactive bone cases. CD138 expression was also evaluated in a tissue microarray (TMA) constructed from 24 osteosarcomas, 24 chondrosarcomas, 12 giant cell tumors of bone, and 9 normal bone samples. Membranous expression of CD138 was found in an average of 31% of osteosarcoma cases (16/51; 14/27 [52%] in in-house cases; 2/24 [8%] in TMA cases) and in 83% of osteoid osteoma/osteoblastoma cases (10/12). Subsequent immunoglobulin κ and λ stains were negative in the CD138+ cases. All cases of chondrosarcoma, giant cell tumor of bone, and normal/reactive bone tested were nonreactive with anti-CD138. Our results show that CD138 reactivity for neoplastic cells in bone is not a definitive marker for plasmacytic origin, and caution is required to interpret CD138+ cells from a bony lesion for which a hematologic etiology has not been established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35249-7331, USA.
authors.forename: Amberly L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Nunez
authors.forename: Gene P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Siegal
authors.forename: Vishnu V B
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D018212:Giant Cell Tumor of Bone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018215:Osteoblastoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010016:Osteoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D053668:Syndecan-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C508241:SDC1 protein, human; D053668:Syndecan-1