D2-40, Podoplanin, and CD31 as a Prognostic Predictor in Invasive Ductal Carcinomas of the Breast / 한국유방암학회지

PURPOSE: Distant metastasis and recurrence are major prognostic factors associated with breast cancer. Both lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and blood vessel invasion (BVI) are important routes for metastasis to regional lymph nodes and for systemic metastasis. Despite the importance of vascular invasion as a prognostic factor, application of vascular invasion as a histopathological criterion is controversial. The aim of this study was to distinguish LVI from BVI in prognosis and recurrence of breast cancer using an endothelial subtype specific immunohistochemical stain (podoplanin, D2-40, and CD31). METHODS: Sections from 80 paraffin-embedded archival specimens of invasive breast cancer were stained for podoplanin, D2-40, or CD31 expression. Immunohistochemical staining results were correlated with clinicopathological features, such as tumor size, status of lymph node metastases, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 expression, and recurrence. Patients with ductal carcinoma in situ and stage IV breast cancer were excluded. RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between D2-40 LVI positivity and lymph node metastasis (p=0.022). We found a significant correlation between D2-40 LVI positivity and recurrence of breast cancer (p=0.014). However, no significant correlation was found between BVI and recurrence. A poorer disease free survival was shown for D2-40 positive LVI (p=0.003). In a multivariate analysis, the presence of D2-40 LVI positivity revealed a significant association with decreased disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: D2-40 LVI positivity was a more prognostic predictor of breast cancer than BVI.

Immunohistochemical Characteristics of Kaposi Sarcoma and its Mimicries

BACKGROUND: The differential diagnosis of Kaposi sarcoma includes many disease that range from benign disease to malignant tumors. However, little information is available about the immunohistochemical characteristics of Kaposi sarcoma. METHODS: The expressions of 13 various proteins (HHV-8 LNA-1, Ki-67, bcl-2, p53, CD31, CD34, factor VIII, D2-40, vimentin, SMA, S-100, EMA, and c-kit) were evaluated immunohistochemically in 49 vascular tumors including 16 Kaposi sarcomas, 8 angiosarcomas, 2 hemangioendotheliomas, and 23 benign vascular tumors with using the tissue array method. RESULTS: All 16 cases of Kaposi sarcoma showed nuclear staining for HHV-8 LNA-1, whereas all the cases of angiosarcoma and benign vascular lesions were negative for HHV-8 LNA-1 (p0.05). No Kaposi sarcoma showed a bcl-2 expression, but 62.5% of the angiosarcomas and 21.7% of the benign vascular tumors had bcl-2 expressions (p=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Immunohistochemical detection of HHV-8 LNA-1 and D2-40 are useful tools to differentiate Kaposi sarcoma from other vascular tumors.