PMID: 22585605May 16, 2012Paper

Immunohistochemical evaluation of inhibin-alpha in non-small-cell lung carcinomas--a pitfall in diagnosing metastatic pulmonary carcinomas

Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science
Kai ZhangFan Lin

Abstract

Inhibin-alpha is commonly used in differentiating non-small-cell lung carcinoma from certain metastatic carcinomas, but a study on a large series of primary lung cancer cases has not yet been published. To establish whether non-small-cell lung carcinoma can express inhibin-alpha; if so, caution should be exercised when using the molecule to evaluate metastatic lung cancer in both lung and extrapulmonary sites. 187 cases of non-small-cell lung carcinoma and small-cell lung carcinoma were evaluated for expression of inhibin-alpha on both routine and tissue microarray sections by immunohistochemistry. These cases included 90 mixed or acinar adenocarcinomas, 2 acinar carcinomas with mucinous feature, 6 bronchioloalveolar carcinomas, 9 large-cell carcinomas, 2 adenosquamous carcinomas, 2 sarcomatoid carcinomas, 41 squamous cell carcinomas, 12 typical carcinoid tumors, 3 atypical carcinoid tumors, 20 small-cell lung carcinomas, and 19 cases of normal lung. The staining intensity was graded as weak, intermediate, or strong. The distribution was recorded as negative (no staining), 1+ (<25%), 2+ (26-50%), 3+ (51-75%), or 4+ (>75%). Cytoplasmic coarse granular staining for inhibin-alpha was the indicator for a positive result. A subset o...Continue Reading

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