title: Expression of podoplanin in primary and metastatic poorly differentiated and undifferentiated carcinomas of the head and neck.
abstract: The invasive growth properties of head and neck carcinoma can be determined by proteins associated with cellular motility. Podoplanin is a recently identified protein associated with motility of cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-five tumour specimens of 51 patients with poorly and undifferentiated carcinomas were investigated for podoplanin expression. All tissues were fixed in buffered formalin and embedded in paraffin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Podoplanin expression showed a tendency towards a more intense staining in carcinomas with a squamous epithelia differentiation compared to tumours without any remnants of cellular layers. Podoplanin expression was very rarely seen in lymph node metastases and the staining was weak in these specimens. The differences of podoplanin expression between primary and metastatic carcinoma were highly significant (p<0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Podoplanin is expressed in primary undifferentiated carcinoma, both inside and outside of Waldeyer's ring. This study shows that podoplanin can be used as a marker of tumour invasion in poorly or undifferentiated head and neck carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Eppendorf University Hospital, University of Hamburg, Martinist. 52, D-20246 Hamburg, Germany. rfriedrich@uke.de
authors.forename: Reinhard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Sylva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bartel-Friedrich
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hagel
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D000098853:Podoplanin
chemical_list: D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C117468:PDPN protein, human; D000098853:Podoplanin