Expression of thyroid transcription factor-1 in brain metastases: a useful indicator of pulmonary origin

Journal of Clinical Neuroscience : Official Journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
Wen-Yu ChuangChen-Nen Chang

Abstract

Determining the primary site of a brain metastasis can be difficult, particularly if there is no organ-specific tumor histology. Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is a marker commonly expressed in lung and thyroid carcinomas. We studied the value of TTF-1 staining to identify brain metastases from a lung primary. Forty-three consecutive patients metastatic carcinomas of the brain were reviewed from a 4 year period. Twenty-one (75%) of the 28 metastatic pulmonary carcinomas were TTF-1 positive (+), whereas only one metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (7%) out of 15 metastatic non-pulmonary carcinomas was TTF-1 (+). We also studied the cytokeratin profile of these tumors. However, cytokeratin profile, either alone or combined with TTF-1 staining, was not better than TTF-1 staining alone in identifying brain metastases of pulmonary origin. Overall, TTF-1 positivity is a useful indicator of pulmonary origin in brain metastases, with a very high positive predictive value (95%) and a moderate negative predictive value (67%).

References

Feb 1, 1985·Southern Medical Journal·V P Dhopesh, P M Yagnik
Jan 1, 1997·Journal of Clinical Pathology·C Di LoretoC A Beltrami
Mar 18, 2000·Advances in Anatomic Pathology·N G Ordóñez
Jan 13, 2001·Pathology, Research and Practice·J S Reis-FilhoF C Schmitt
Feb 27, 2001·The American Journal of Surgical Pathology·G PelosiG Viale
Apr 18, 2002·Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology·Chien-Jen ChenYa-Wen Yang
Jun 8, 2002·Applied Immunohistochemistry & Molecular Morphology : AIMM·Sean K LauRichard N Eisen
Sep 29, 2004·Journal of Clinical Pathology·J ZamecnikR Kodet
Mar 21, 2006·Annals of Diagnostic Pathology·Alan L Prok, Richard A Prayson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Apr 26, 2012·Applied Immunohistochemistry & Molecular Morphology : AIMM·Nelson G Ordóñez

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell

Basal cell carcinoma is a form of malignant skin cancer found on the head and neck regions and has low rates of metastasis. Discover the latest research on basal cell carcinoma here.