Thrombomodulin as a marker of vascular and lymphatic tumours

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of a new commercially available antibody to thrombomodulin as an endothelial marker in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. The expression of thrombomodulin in a variety of 50 vascular and lymphatic neoplasms and malformations was compared to the expression of von Willebrand factor, QBend 10 (CD34) and JC70 (CD31). We showed that thrombomodulin was the best marker of lymphatic endothelium and also stained a higher percentage of malignant vasoformative tumours when compared to the other markers. We recommend the assessment of thrombomodulin expression in the differential diagnosis of malignant vasoformative neoplasms and in the detection of lymphatic endothelium for evidence of tumour permeation.