[An immunohistochemical study on esophageal carcinomas with various kinds of antikeratin antibodies]

Fifty five formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, pronase-pretreated esophageal carcinomas and their metastatic nodes were studied immunohistochemically with peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique for keratins using polyclonal antibody (DAKO), antibody against keratins of keratinocyte (KL1), against high molecular weight-keratin (EY904), and against low molecular weight-keratins (EY902, PKK1). The suprabasal layer of the esophageal epithelium was stained diffusely with DAKO, KL1 and EY902 and faintly or locally with EY904 and PKK1. Esophageal ducts were positive with any antibodies. We classified staining pattern of the esophageal carcinoma according to the localization and proportion of the positive cells in the cancer nests. No significant correlation of the staining pattern was found between the primary lesions and metastatic nodes. The proportion of the EY904-positive cells correlated significantly with the degree of lymph node metastasis, histologic stage, and prognosis by rank correlation method and generalized Wilcoxon test, but not with the depth of invasion nor histologic degree of differentiation. The proportion of DAKO-positive cells correlated significantly only with histologic degree of differentiation. It was supposed that esophageal carcinomas with high molecular weight-keratin had less tendency to metastasize to nodes.