Differential retinoblastoma and p16INK4A protein expression in neuroendocrine tumors of the lung

✍ Scribed by Hirotoshi Dosaka-Akita; Philip T. Cagle; Hiromitsu Hiroumi; Masahiro Fujita; Motoyuki Yamashita; Anupama Sharma; Yoshikazu Kawakami; William F. Benedict

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 277 KB
• Volume: 88
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(20000201)88:3<550::aid-cncr9>3.0.co;2-d

✦ Synopsis

BACKGROUND.

Neuroendocrine neoplasms of the lung represent a wide spectrum of phenotypically and biologically distinct entities. Their histopathologic diagnosis, which carries therapeutic and prognostic significance, may sometimes be difficult because of their overlapping features. We previously demonstrated that large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNECs) and small cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs) failed to show positive nuclear staining of RB protein (RBϪ), whereas typical and atypical carcinoids (TCs and ACs) showed nuclear RB immunostaining (RBϩ).

METHODS.

In the current study, a series of 58 surgically resected lung tumors, of which 33 tumors were initially diagnosed as SCLCs and 25 as TCs or ACs, were studied for RB and p16 protein expression by immunohistochemistry. They were also reviewed for their pathologic diagnosis; the reviewers were blinded to the RB and p16 protein status.