comparative study of the pattern of distribution of epithelial mucins in colonic and mammary carcinoma

ABSTRACT

55 carcinoma specimens [31 colonic and 24 breast] and 18 postmortem controls were studied to determine the pattern of epithelial mucin [sulpho and sialomucin] distribution in tumour and tumour bed regions. All cases were stained by haematoxylin and eosin and subjected to the high iron diamine technique. Extracellular sulphomucins were observed to appear actually within the carcinomatous tissues, 83% of breast cancers displayed diffuse, patchy and pericellular condensations in both tumour and tumour bed regions whereas in colonic carcinoma cases examined a much lower precentage of cases displayed this feature [6.4%]. Extracellulary, the main pattern of distribution being patchy particularly around groups of cells and varying from breast carcinomatous tissue patterns Sialomucins although hardly detected in the extracellular matrix under normal conditions have been seen to make a prominent appearance with malignant transformation yet in a small percentage of cases [8%] and 3.2% of mammary and colonic malignancies. The intracellular compartment sialomucins varied greatly from normal tissues, thus in breast carcinoma the undetectable sulphomucins in healthy tissue made their appearance as prominent intracytoplasmic deposits in 79% of cases, the sialomucins in 8% whilst in colonic carcinoma the normally abundant sulpho and sialomucins were apparent intracytoplasmically in 25% and 16% of specimens respectively. It thus appears, that there might not be an alteration that could be shared by all tumours alike. Instead such materials are tisssue specific and it is likely that each tumour has its own epithelial mucin profile which may help in identification of metastasis when the cellular elements are highly undifferentiated