[Immunohistochemical study of basement membrane proteins expression in adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary glands].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the expression of the basement membrane proteins in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the salivary glands and discuss the relationship between the expression of the proteins and the differentiation as well the prognosis of ACC.

METHODS

101 patients which were confirmed pathologically were collected and made a follow-up, and 30 cases of them were selected to detect the basement membrane proteins (type IV collagen, fibronectin, laminin and heparan sulfate proteoglycan) by the means of immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

The cribriform pattern of ACC had a more favorable prognosis than the solid pattern which had a lower rates of metastasis of/and recurrence. The positive locations and the degrees of the four proteins varied with the histological patterns of ACC. The cribriform pattern had the strongest positive expression and the solid pattern the weakest. In addition, the staining of fibronectin were weaker in all three patterns of ACC.

CONCLUSION

The degree of the positive expression of the four proteins has a negative relation to the differentiation of the tumor cells. The lower degree of differentiation the tumor cells are, the weaker positive signals they express. Of the four substances in the basement membrane, laminin is the main material which adhere the parenchymal cell to the collagen in basement membrane of the tumor. Basement membrane proteins could be regarded as one of the basis to evaluate the prognosis of ACC.