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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Colorectal Cancer Cell Surface Protein Profiling Using an Antibody Microarray and Fluorescence Multiplexing
Published on: September 25, 2011
Immunohistochemical differential diagnosis between large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma and small cell carcinoma by
Jun-ichi Nitadori1, Genichiro Ishii, Koji Tsuta
1Pathology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute East, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8577, Japan.
Abstract:
To elucidate additional phenotypic differences between large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), we performed tissue microarray (TMA) analysis of surgically resected LCNEC and SCLC specimens. Immunostaining with 48 antibodies was scored based on staining intensity and the percentage of cells that stained positively. Four proteins were identified as significantly expressed in LCNEC as compared with SCLC: cytokeratin (CK)7, 113 vs 49 (P < .0301); CK18, 171 vs 60 (P < .0008); E-cadherin, 77 vs 9 (P < .0073); and beta-catenin, 191 vs 120 (P < .0286). Immunostaining of cross-sections containing LCNEC and SCLC components revealed significant expression of CK7, CK18 and beta-catenin in the LCNEC component compared with the SCLC component in 2 of 3 cases. Our results indicate that significant expression of CK7, CK18, E-cadherin, and beta-catenin is more characteristic of LCNEC than of SCLC, and these findings provide further support that these tumor types are separate entities morphologically and immunophenotypically, if not biologically.
