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Comparative Study
. 2008 Jul 31:4:17.
doi: 10.1186/1746-160X-4-17.

Oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma shares clinical and histological features with angiosarcoma

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma shares clinical and histological features with angiosarcoma

Oliver Driemel et al. Head Face Med. .

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.

Conclusion: Fli-1 in angiosarcoma and ln-5 in ASCC are distinguishing features.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Exophytic growth of an oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma on the alveolar ridge of the lower jaw.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma: capillary and papillary growth pattern (H&E, ×150).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma: venular/glandular-like pattern (H&E, ×150).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Oral angiosarcoma: immunohistochemical demonstration of the epithelial intermediate filament protein cytokeratin in a subset of the tumour cells (clones AE1/AE3 ×150).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Oral acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma: immunohistochemical demonstration of the ln-5-γ2-chain. Note the strong immunostaining within the cytoplasm of the majority of the carcinoma cells (clone D4B5, ×150).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Oral angiosarcoma: immunohistochemical demonstration of factor VIII-related antigen in a subset of the tumour cells lining the vascular spaces (×150).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Oral angiosarcoma: immunohistochemical demonstration of Fli-1 in a subset of the tumour cells (×150).

References

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