Introduction: An immunohistochemical study has occasionally been performed to diagnose anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC). However, antibodies to confirm the undifferentiated nature of ATC have not yet been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate E-cadherin and β-catenin expressions in immunoreactivity to determine undifferentiated carcinoma cells in the diagnosis of ATC. Methods: We immunohistochemically examined 29 ATCs, 30 poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas (PDTCs), 22 well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas (WDTCs), and 3 squamous cell carcinomas. Antibodies for thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), paired-box gene 8 (PAX8), β-catenin, and E-cadherin were used. Results: All WDTCs tested positive for TTF-1, PAX8, and E-cadherin. The positive rates of TTF-1, PAX8, and E-cadherin were 93.3, 93.3, and 100%, respectively, in PDTCs and 17.2, 51.7, and 10.3%, respectively, in ATCs. WDTC expressed the lateral cell membrane staining for β-catenin and E-cadherin, whereas PDTC showed circumferential cell membranous expression (fishnet pattern). β-catenin cell membrane expression in ATCs is lost or discontinuous. Carcinoma cells with β-catenin nuclear expression without cell membranous expression were scattered in 72.4% of ATCs but were not observed in the other carcinomas. Conclusion: We propose 3 immunohistochemical findings to determine undifferentiated carcinoma cells in the diagnosis of ATC: (1) β-catenin nuclear expression with no or reduced cell membranous expression, (2) the loss or discontinuous pattern of E-cadherin expression, and (3) the loss of PAX8 nuclear expression.
Pathobiology

中文翻译：

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评估 E-Cadherin 和 β-Catenin 免疫反应性以确定甲状腺未分化癌中的未分化细胞

简介：有时会进行免疫组织化学研究来诊断甲状腺未分化癌 (ATC)。然而，尚未评估确认 ATC 未分化性质的抗体。本研究的目的是评估 E-cadherin 和 β-catenin 在免疫反应性中的表达，以确定未分化癌细胞在 ATC 诊断中的作用。方法：我们免疫组化检查了 29 例 ATC、30 例低分化甲状腺癌 (PDTC)、22 例高分化甲状腺癌 (WDTC) 和 3 例鳞状细胞癌。使用了甲状腺转录因子-1 (TTF-1)、配对框基因 8 (PAX8)、β-连环蛋白和 E-钙粘蛋白的抗体。结果：所有 WDTCs TTF-1、PAX8 和 E-cadherin 检测呈阳性。TTF-1、PAX8 和 E-cadherin 的阳性率在 PDTC 中分别为 93.3、93.3 和 100%，在 ATC 中分别为 17.2、51.7 和 10.3%。WDTC 表达 β-catenin 和 E-cadherin 的外侧细胞膜染色，而 PDTC 显示周向细胞膜表达（渔网图案）。ATC 中的 β-连环蛋白细胞膜表达丢失或不连续。具有 β-catenin 核表达但无细胞膜表达的癌细胞散布在 72.4% 的 ATC 中，但在其他癌中未观察到。结论：我们提出 3 种免疫组织化学结果来确定未分化癌细胞在 ATC 诊断中的作用：（1）β-连环蛋白核表达没有或细胞膜表达减少，（2）E-钙粘蛋白表达缺失或不连续模式，以及（3） PAX8 核表达的丧失。
病理学