Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and Polymorphus Adenocarcinoma: An Immunohistochemical Comparison Publisher



Mahdavi N¹ ; Aminishakib P¹ ; Zavarei M² ; Yazdani FB³ ; Salehzadeh M⁴ Show Affiliations
Source: Iranian Journal of Science and Technology# Transaction A: Science Published:2021

Abstract

Adenoid cystic carcinoma and polymorphous adenocarcinoma are two malignant salivary gland tumors which have dissimilar clinical behavior despite overlapping histological features. To explain their different clinical behavior especially their different metastatic potential, we compared epithelial mesenchymal transition among the cancer cells as well as the presence of cancer-associated fibroblasts and angiogenesis as two major components of the tumor microenvironment. 22 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma and 16 cases of polymorphous adenocarcinoma were collected. We used immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin and Vimentin to assess epithelial mesenchymal transition. The immunohistochemical expression of α-SMA in non-vascular stromal cells and CD105 was used to define cancer-associated fibroblasts and intra-tumoral microvessel density, respectively. Among epithelial mesenchymal transition markers, there was no significant difference in E-cadherin and Vimentin expression between polymorphous adenocarcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma (p = 0.114, p = 0.064, respectively). Regarding the stromal components, both markers showed higher expression in adenoid cystic carcinoma (p = 0.003 for CD105 and p = 0.045 for α-SMA). A positive correlation was seen between stromal α-SMA positive cells and intra-tumoral microvessel density in adenoid cystic carcinoma (0.025), though such a relationship was not detected in polymorphous adenocarcinoma (p = 0.702). The different clinical behavior of adenoid cystic carcinoma and polymorphous adenocarcinoma may be explained by the larger number of cancer-associated fibroblasts and microvessel density in adenoid cystic carcinoma. © 2021, Shiraz University.