S100A6 expression in cutaneous smooth muscle neoplasms

The S100A6 protein is expressed in a variety of tissues and distinct staining patterns in S100A6 immunohistochemistry may be useful in the differential diagnosis of difficult lesions. We evaluated the staining pattern of the S100A6 antibody in 22 cases each of pilar leiomyoma (LM), angioleiomyoma (ALM), and cutaneous leiomyosarcoma (LMS). S100A6 labeled both the nucleus and cytoplasm of myocytes in positive cases. About 64% of LM and 86% ALM had positive staining to the S100A6 antibody but predominantly in a weak staining pattern. In contrast, 95% of the LMS exhibited moderate to strong staining with the S100A6 antibody. The difference in the frequency of positive cases was statistically significant in the LM vs LMS comparison (p = 0.025), but we found intensity of staining to be of greatest practical utility. Analysis between the groups taking in to consideration differences in intensity of staining using the nonparametric rank sum (Mann-Whitney U test) demonstrated that there was a statistically significant difference between LM and LMS and between ALM and LMS. Weak or absent S100A6 staining supports a diagnosis of LM, whereas strong positive staining supports a diagnosis of LMS.