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. 2012 Sep;3(3):262-84.
doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2078-6891.2012.019.

Immunohistochemical features of the gastrointestinal tract tumors

Hannah H Wong  1 , Peiguo Chu
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Immunohistochemical features of the gastrointestinal tract tumors

Hannah H Wong et al. J Gastrointest Oncol. 2012 Sep.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Gastrointestinal tract tumors include a wide variety of vastly different tumors and on a whole are one of the most common malignancies in western countries. These tumors often present at late stages as distant metastases which are then biopsied and may be difficult to differentiate without the aid of immunohistochemical stains. With the exception of pancreatic and biliary tumors where there are no distinct immunohistochemical patterns, most gastrointestinal tumors can be differentiated by their unique immunohistochemical profile. As the size of biopsies decrease, the role of immunohistochemical stains will become even more important in determining the origin and differentiation of gastrointestinal tract tumors.

Keywords: Immunohistochemistry; diagnosis; gastrointestinal neoplasms.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Immunohistochemical features of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. A. CK14 highlights the tumor cells; B. p63 shows nuclear positivity in the tumor cells
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histologic and immunohistochemical features of gastric adenocarcinoma – intestinal type. A. Gastric adenocarcinoma-intestinal type; B. CK7 shows variable expression in tumor cells; C. CK20 with variable expression; D. CDX-2 diffuse nuclear positivity
Figure 3
Figure 3
Histologic and immunohistochemical features of gastric adenocarcinoma - diffuse type/signet ring cell carcinoma. A. Gastric adenocarcinoma- diffuse type/signet ring cell carcinoma; B. Variable CDX-2 positivity; C. CK7 positivity; D. HepPar-1 expression; E. CK20 shows variable positivity; F. E-cadherin is negative
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immunohistochemical features of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). A. CD117 shows diffuse cytoplasmic staining with membranous accentuation; B. DOG-1 also shows diffuse positivity
Figure 5
Figure 5
Immunohistochemical features of small intestinal adenocarcinoma. A. CK7 positivity; B. CK20; C. CDX-2showing diffuse positivity
Figure 6
Figure 6
Histologic and immunohistochemical features of colon adenocarcinoma. A. Colon adenocarcinoma; B. Diffuse CK20 positivity in tumor cells; C. Villin shows diffuse positivity; D. CDX-2 is diffusely positive; E. MUC2 positive in mucin producing cells
Figure 7
Figure 7
Histologic and immunohistochemical features of goblet cell carcinoid tumor of the appendix. A. Goblet cell carcinoid tumor of the appendix; B. Tumor cells positive for CDX-2; C. Focal positivity for chromogranin
Figure 8
Figure 8
Histologic and immunohistochemical features of pancreatic ductal carcinoma. A. Pancreatic ductal carcinoma; B. Diffuse CK7 positivity in tumor cells; C. CK20 positive; D. CK17 positivity in tumor cells
Figure 9
Figure 9
Histologic and unique immunohistochemical features of hepatocellular carcinoma. A. Hepatocellular carcinoma; B. Glypican-3 shows diffuse positivity in tumor cells; C. CD34 highlights the increased vascularity within the tumor; D. AFP is aberrantly expressed
Figure 10
Figure 10
Immunohistochemical features of hepatocellular carcinoma. A. CD10 shows a canalicular staining pattern; B. polyclonal CEA also highlights the canaliculi; C. HepPar-1 with diffuse intracytoplasmic granular positivity
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