Ivan Selak

CD10 protein expression in tumor and stromal cells of malignant melanoma is associated with tumor progression

CD10 antigen is a 100-kDa-cell surface zinc metalloendopeptidase expressed in a variety of normal and neoplastic lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues including melanomas. It was recently shown that metastatic melanomas express more CD10 than primary tumors. We evaluated CD10 expression in tumor and stromal cells in 70 biopsies with primary and 28 with metastatic malignant melanomas. Ki-67, Bcl-2, and Bax were also examined to investigate whether CD10 expression is associated with tumor proliferation index or factors of apoptosis. Formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded tissues were studied by immunohistochemistry. More advanced primary tumors had higher CD10 expression in the tumor cells (r=0.27, P=0.03 for Clark levels and r=0.29, P=0.02 for Breslow) and higher Ki-67 proliferation fraction (r=0.32, P=0.007 for Clark levels and r=0.32, P=0.001 for Breslow). Similarly, CD10 expression in the intratumoral stromal cells was also higher in primary tumors with higher Clark level (P=0.04, linear-by-linear association) and tumor thickness according to Breslow (r=0.33, P=0.01). The presence of CD10+ peritumoral stromal cell cuffs was also positively associated with tumor thickness according to Breslow (r=0.27, P=0.05). Also, expression of CD10 and Ki-67 were significantly higher in metastatic than in primary tumors (P=0.01 and 0.02 respectively), but Bcl-2 expression was higher in primary melanomas (P=0.02). We conclude that CD10 expression in malignant melanoma is associated with tumor progression.

Expression of bcl-6 and CD10 Protein Is Associated With Longer Overall Survival and Time to Treatment Failure in Follicular Lymphoma

Follicular lymphomas (FLs) are a heterogeneous group of tumors, but prognostic factors are evaluated insufficiently in this common hematologic neoplasm. While bcl-6 and CD10 are expressed characteristically in FLs, their significance for biologic behavior of FL has not been studied previously. Samples from 73 patients with FL and clinical follow-up from 7 to 231 months were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis. Patients with high levels of bcl-6 expression had favorable overall survival (OS) (P = .003), disease-specific survival (DSS) (P = .033), and time to treatment failure (P = .003) compared with patients with low levels of bcl-6 expression. Multivariate analysis showed that the results for OS, DSS, and time to treatment failure were independent of the international prognostic index. Patients with CD10+ FLs also had longer OS (P = .001), DSS (P = .007), and time to treatment failure (P = .004), and grade 1 FL was associated with better OS (P = .01) and a statistical trend for longer DSS (P = .05) and time to treatment failure (P = .05), but these results were not independent of bcl-6 expression or the international prognostic index in multivariate analysis.

Type IV collagen immunoreactivity of basement membrane in inflammatory-regenerative and dysplastic lesions of the flat colonic mucosa

UNLABELLED The aim of this research is to establish by immunohistochemistry if there is a change in the expression of collagen type IV, as a substitute of basement membrane, in development of epithelial dysplasia in chronically inflamed colon mucosa. METHODS Biopsy specimens from 270 patients were examined: 74 were classified as inflammatory-regenerative and 196 as dysplastic lesions. There were 108 cases of mild dysplasia, 58 cases of moderate and 30 cases severe dysplasia, respectively. Visualisation of collagen IV and its way of expression within basement membrane of glandular crypts was performed by immunohistochemistry and then compared with findings in normal colon mucosa and colon adenocarcinoma tissue. RESULTS Changes in the expression of collagen IV comprised of its focal irregularities, diffuse thinning and/or thickening, focal interruptions or its complete absence. Significant changes in the expression of collagen IV in relation to normal mucosa already occur in inflammatory-regenerative mucosa. In mild dysplasia, these changes are more intensive in relation to those in inflammatory altered mucosa as well as at severe dysplasia in relation to moderate dysplasia. Changes in the expression of collagen IV in severe dysplasia are significantly more serious than in moderate dysplasia but are identical to those in colon adenocarcinoma tissue. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that change in the expression of collagen IV is in correlation to a degree of epithelial dysplasia that developed in flat chronically inflamed colon mucosa.