Background
Malignant mesothelioma can be difficult to be distinguished from lung
adenocarcinoma without immunohistochemistry. However, conventional
mesothelial markers until now do not have optimal sensitivity and specificity,
necessitating the identification of new markers.
Patients and methods
Sex-determining region Y box 6 (SOX6) and heart development protein with EGFlike
domain 1 (HEG1) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 55 cases of
epithelioid mesothelioma and 50 cases of lung adenocarcinoma. All cases were
previously immunostained by calretinin and D2-40. Both sensitivity and specificity
for distinguishing epithelioid mesothelioma from adenocarcinoma were calculated.
Results
SOX6 expression was present in 54 (98%) of 55 cases of epithelioid
mesothelioma, compared with its expression in only four (8%) of 50 cases of
lung adenocarcinoma. The sensitivity and specificity of SOX6 expression for
differentiating epithelioid mesothelioma from lung adenocarcinoma were 98.2 and
92.0%, respectively. HEG1 expression was present in 52 (94.5%) of 55 cases of
epithelioid mesothelioma, compared with its complete negative expression in all
studied cases of lung adenocarcinoma. The sensitivity and specificity of HEG1 for
differentiation epithelioid mesothelioma from lung adenocarcinoma were 94.5 and
100%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of both SOX6 and HEG1 were
higher than those of calretinin and D2-40. |
