S-100 protein in soft-tissue tumors derived from Schwann cells and melanocytes

In soft tissues outside the central nervous system, S-100 protein is found normally only in Schwann cells. Using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemical method S-100 was also found in tumors derived from Schwann cells and melanocytes, including neurofibromas, neurilemomas, granular cell myoblastomas, cutaneous nevi, and malignant melanomas. S-100 was not detected in malignant Schwannomas, neuroblastomas, oat cell carcinomas, medullary carcinomas of the thyroid, paragangliomas, or meningiomas. S-100 was also absent from neoplasms of soft tissues not usually considered to arise from cells of neural crest origin. S-100 appears to be a useful marker for identifying neoplasms derived from Schwann cells and melanocytes.