Cytokeratin expression in normal and (pre)malignant head and neck epithelia: An overview

Abstract

Intermediate filament proteins (IFPs) are important markers of tissue differentiation and have been receiving increasing interest, in particular, through their applicability in the characterization of malignant tumors. Cytokeratins (Cks) are a family of IFPs that are typically specific for epithelial cells. They are expressed in certain combinations depending on the type of epithelium and the degree of differentiation. This review presents a critical analysis of the available data on Ck expression in normal and (pre) neoplastic epithelia of the head and neck region. Special attention is paid to technical and cell biologic pitfalls, which can lead to false-negative or false-positive data. It appears that only a limited fraction of the reported data contributes substantially to our knowledge of IFP expression in head and neck cancer because of the use of ill-defined, often formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded, tissue specimens, and the application of limited panels of monoclonal antibodies. It is concluded that the use of immunocytohistochemistry is promising for the differential diagnosis of head and neck tumors and contributes to our knowledge on their biologic behavior. However, documentations of more complete Ck expression patterns of normal and (pre)malignant epithelium are required, together with their correlation to clinical parameters.

Expression of Cytokeratin 14 and 19 in Process of Oral Carcinogenesis

“…It has been reported that CK19 is expressed, not in normal tissue or dysplasias, but in carcinomas in situ 20) ; that is, changes in CK19 expression occur in lesions undergoing transition to cancer. In addition, one study reported that CK19 was expressed in early invasive oral cancers, but not in advanced cancers 22) . We speculate that changes in expression of CK19 in basal cells are involved in malignant transformation and cancer proliferation.…”

Comparative study of cytokeratin and langerin expression in keratinized cystic lesions of the oral and maxillofacial regions

“…Immunoreactivity for CK17 was found in all layers except for the basal layer in both OOCs and DCs, whereas it was partially weak but present in all layers in KCOTs, suggesting that KCOT has a more neoplastic nature. CK19 (40 kDa) is expressed in dental lamina, the enamel organ and epithelial rests of Malassez, suggesting that it may be considered an odontogenic epithelial marker (29,(33)(34)(35). In fact, several reports have indicated that CK19 is positive in the basal layer of non-keratinized epithelium, or was negative in KCOTs (25,29).…”

Prognostic value of clinicopathological parameters in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a prospective analysis

“…Recently, specific factors such as qualitative and quantitative cytokeratin expression (Van der Velden et al, 1993, Klijanienko et al, 1993 tumour vascularisation (tumour invasion of vessels and angiogenesis) (Weidner et al, 1991) and tumour DNA content have been evaluated. The value of ploidy as an independent prognostic parameter in heterogeneous solid tumours remains moot and controversial (Merkel and McGuire, 1990) and seems to be linked to treatment modalities (Ensley and Maciorowski, 1994).…”