title: The utility of ATF3 in distinguishing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma among other cutaneous epithelial neoplasms.
abstract: The histopathologic distinction between benign and malignant cutaneous keratinocytic proliferations can pose a difficult diagnostic challenge - often with important clinical implications. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) has emerged as a potential biomarker which may aid in the segregation of these lesions, and we hypothesize that ATF3 expression may be a specific marker of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Using immunohistochemistry, we characterized ATF3 expression in a series of 126 cutaneous epithelial proliferations, including SCC (n = 27), basal cell carcinomas (BCC, n = 59), seborrheic keratoses with atypia (SK, n = 16), hyperplastic actinic keratoses (AK, n = 12) and prurigo nodularis cases (PN, n = 12). We showed strong, nuclear and/or nucleolar expression of ATF3 in a statistically significant number of cases of SCC compared to BCC, SK and PN. We conclude that ATF3 expression is a surrogate of malignancy (or pre-malignancy) in keratinocytic epithelial proliferations and thus helps distinguish SCC from other cutaneous epithelial neoplasms.
authors: Department of Pathology, Section of Dermatopathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors: Crystal L
authors: CL
authors: Rose
authors: Nitin
authors: N
authors: Chakravarti
authors: Jonathan L
authors: JL
authors: Curry
authors: Carlos A
authors: CA
authors: Torres-Cabala
authors: Roland
authors: R
authors: Bassett
authors: Victor G
authors: VG
authors: Prieto
authors: Michael T
authors: MT
authors: Tetzlaff
mesh_terms: D051700:Activating Transcription Factor 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D012628:Dermatitis, Seborrheic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007634:Keratitis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D055623:Keratosis, Actinic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017492:Keratosis, Seborrheic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011536:Prurigo / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C490449:ATF3 protein, human; D051700:Activating Transcription Factor 3; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor