Hua Hai-Kang, Jin Cheng, Yang Li-Jia, Tao Shi-Qin, Zhu Xiao-Hong
Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The Wuxi Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, 214002, China.
Cell Biochem Biophys. 2015 Jun;72(2):475-80. doi: 10.1007/s12013-014-0490-7.
Cyclooxygenase (COX), also known as prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase, catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostanoids. There are two different isoforms of COX, referred to as COX-1 and COX-2. Overexpression of COX-2 has been demonstrated in various neoplasms. In this study, we plan to utilize COX-2 in understanding the difference of squamous cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma which have many similarities in both morphological and histological features. The objective of this study is to study the expression of COX-2 in squamous cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma and to discuss its clinical significance. The expression of COX-2 in 55 cases of skin tumors (including 30 specimens of squamous cell carcinoma, 25 specimens of keratoacanthoma) and 20 normal skin tissues was detected by immunohistochemical technique. The positive expression of COX-2 was found in 73.3 % (22/30) of squamous cell carcinoma and 12 % (3/25) of keratoacanthoma cases. The positive expression rate of COX-2 in 55 skin tumors (45.5 %) was significantly higher than that in normal skin tissues (5 %) (χ (2) = 10.598 %, P < 0.05). The expression of COX-2 in squamous cell carcinoma (73.3 %) was significantly higher than that in keratoacanthoma (12 %) (χ (2) = 20.69, P < 0.05). COX-2 overexpression may play a potential role in the pathogenesis of skin tumors. The positive expression rate of COX-2 is associated with the malignant degree of the tumor, and also it may help differentiating squamous cell carcinoma from keratoacanthoma.
环氧化酶（COX），也被称为前列腺素内过氧化物合酶，催化花生四烯酸转化为前列腺素。COX有两种不同的同工型，即COX-1和COX-2。COX-2在多种肿瘤中已被证实存在过表达。在本研究中，我们计划利用COX-2来了解在形态学和组织学特征上有许多相似之处的鳞状细胞癌和角化棘皮瘤之间的差异。本研究的目的是研究COX-2在鳞状细胞癌和角化棘皮瘤中的表达，并探讨其临床意义。采用免疫组织化学技术检测55例皮肤肿瘤（包括30例鳞状细胞癌标本、25例角化棘皮瘤标本）及20例正常皮肤组织中COX-2的表达。结果显示，COX-2在73.3%（22/30）的鳞状细胞癌和12%（3/25）的角化棘皮瘤病例中呈阳性表达。55例皮肤肿瘤中COX-2的阳性表达率（45.5%）显著高于正常皮肤组织（5%）（χ² = 10.598%，P < 0.05）。COX-2在鳞状细胞癌中的表达（73.3%）显著高于角化棘皮瘤（12%）（χ² = 20.69，P < 0.05）。COX-2过表达可能在皮肤肿瘤的发病机制中发挥潜在作用。COX-2的阳性表达率与肿瘤的恶性程度相关，也可能有助于鉴别鳞状细胞癌和角化棘皮瘤。
