Expression of p63, keratin 5/6, keratin 7, and surfactant-A in non-small cell lung carcinomas

In this study, we sought to validate the importance of p63, CK5/CK6, CK7, and surfactant-A (SP-A) to classify 42 non-small cell lung cancers in autopsy and surgical resection specimens and to study the usefulness of these markers in distinguishing between squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas because of their different implications regarding treatment and prognosis. All adenocarcinoma cases were negative for p63; 9 (56.2%) of 16 were CK5/CK6 positive, 16 (94.1%) of 17 were CK7 positive, and 4 (26.6%) of 15 were SP-A positive. In squamous cell carcinoma, 1 case was CK7 and SP-A positive and 14 (77.8%) of 18 were p63 positive. The latter appears to be useful in differentiating squamous cell carcinoma from adenocarcinoma of the lung in small biopsies without keratinization or glandular differentiation; thus, for advanced-stage cases, where there is no possibility of surgical resection and the treatment of choice is radiotherapy plus chemotherapy, we would be able to differentiate between the two histological types, establishing then a different therapy.