ALK-positive (ALK+) lung adenocarcinoma usually shows a more advanced-staged disease with frequent nodal metastasis and highly aggressive outcomes compared with EGFR-mutated lung cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profiles of several mucins in ALK + lung cancers to gain insight into the relationship between the more aggressive biological nature of ALK + lung cancers and the role of mucins. We examined the immunohistochemical profiles of mucins MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6 in 19 ALK + lung cancers compared with 42 EGFR-mutated lung cancers. ALK + cancers were found to occur in younger patients and were characterized by a solid-predominant histologic subtype with frequent signet ring cells and peritumoral muciphages. By contrast, EGFR-mutated cancers lacked ALK-specific histological patterns. Although all MUC1 and MUC5AC were expressed in both subtypes, MUC1 expression in ALK + cancers was visualized exclusively through cytoplasmic staining, whereas those in..... READ ARTICLE
Pathology - Research and Practice DOI:10.1016/j.prp.2018.12.011
Authors: Hong Kyu Lee, Mi Jung Kwon, Jinwon Seo, Jeong Won Kim, Mineui Hong, Hye-Rim Park, Soo Kee Min, Ji-Young Choe, Yong Joon Ra, Seung Hun Jang, Yong Il Hwang, Ho Young Kim, Kyueng-Whan Min
