CD24: a potential new marker in differentiating malignant mesothelioma from pulmonary adenocarcinoma

J Clin Pathol. 2013 Mar;66(3):256-9. doi: 10.1136/jclinpath-2012-201020. Epub 2012 Oct 19.

Abstract

Background: The differential diagnosis between malignant mesothelioma (MM) and metastatic lung adenocarcinoma (MLA) often relies on immunohistochemical studies, with no individual immunomarker holding satisfactory discrimination ability.

Methods: We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of CD24 immunoreactivity on 134 patients including 69 cases of MM and 65 MLA.

Results: The expression of CD24 favoured MLA, with 57/65 cases showing positive cytoplasmic staining compared with 9/69 MM (p<0.001), whose immunopositivity pattern was prevalently membranous (7/9 cases).

Conclusions: CD24 positivity can accurately discriminate MM from MLA. Prospective studies are warranted to clarify whether CD24 could integrate with other immunomarkers to facilitate the diagnosis of mesothelial malignancies.

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / diagnosis*
  • Adenocarcinoma / metabolism
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • CD24 Antigen / metabolism*
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Cell Membrane / pathology
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism
  • Cytoplasm / pathology
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Humans
  • Immunoenzyme Techniques / methods
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Lung Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Mesothelioma / diagnosis*
  • Mesothelioma / metabolism
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Reproducibility of Results

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • CD24 Antigen
  • CD24 protein, human