Kamal Noura M, Salem Hend M, Dahmoush Heba M
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Egypt.
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Egypt.
Arch Oral Biol. 2017 Jul;79:87-94. doi: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2017.03.014. Epub 2017 Mar 21.
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland tumor which displays biological, histological and clinical diversity thus representing a challenge for its diagnosis and management. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a transmembrane glycoprotein identified as a tumor specific antigen due to its frequent overexpression in the majority of epithelial carcinomas and its correlation with prognosis. It is considered to be a promising biomarker used as a therapeutic target already in ongoing clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern, cellular characterization and level of EpCAM expression in MEC and demonstrate its correlation with histologic grading which may benefit future clinical trials using EpCAM targeted therapy.
48 specimens (12 normal salivary gland tissue and 36 MEC) were collected and EpCAM membranous expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Total immunoscore (TIS) was evaluated, the term 'EpCAM overexpression' was given for tissues showing a total immunoscore >4.
A highly significant difference was observed between TIS percent values in control and different grades of MEC (p<0.001). High grade MEC (HG-MEC) was the highest EpCAM expressor. In addition, EpCAM expression pattern differed among the different grades.
EpCAM expression was detected in MEC, and its overexpression correlated with increasing the histological grade. The diffuse membranous expression in HG-MEC could be of diagnostic value in relation to the patchy expression observed in both low grade and intermediate grade MEC.
黏液表皮样癌（MEC）是最常见的涎腺恶性肿瘤，具有生物学、组织学和临床多样性，因此对其诊断和治疗构成挑战。上皮细胞黏附分子（EpCAM）是一种跨膜糖蛋白，因其在大多数上皮癌中频繁过度表达及其与预后的相关性而被确定为肿瘤特异性抗原。它被认为是一种有前景的生物标志物，已在正在进行的临床试验中用作治疗靶点。本研究的目的是调查EpCAM在MEC中的表达模式、细胞特征和水平，并证明其与组织学分级的相关性，这可能有助于未来使用EpCAM靶向治疗的临床试验。
收集48份标本（12份正常涎腺组织和36份MEC），通过免疫组织化学评估EpCAM的膜表达。评估总免疫评分（TIS），对于总免疫评分>4的组织给予“EpCAM过表达”这一术语。
在对照组和不同分级的MEC的TIS百分比值之间观察到高度显著差异（p<0.001）。高级别MEC（HG-MEC）是EpCAM表达最高的。此外，不同分级的EpCAM表达模式不同。
在MEC中检测到EpCAM表达，其过表达与组织学分级增加相关。HG-MEC中的弥漫性膜表达相对于低级别和中级MEC中观察到的斑片状表达可能具有诊断价值。
