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Bronchiolization of the alveoli in lung cancer: Pathology, patterns of differentiation and oncogene expression
Author(s) -
JensenTaubman Sandra M.,
Steinberg Seth M.,
Linnoila R. Ilona
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19980209)75:4<489::aid-ijc1>3.0.co;2-p
Subject(s) - pathology , bronchiole , biology , cytokeratin , lung cancer , lung , oncogene , cancer , lesion , in situ hybridization , immunohistochemistry , medicine , gene expression , cell cycle , gene , biochemistry , genetics
We examined the incidence and association of bronchiolization of the alveoli with non‐small cell lung cancer in lung resection specimens from 2 patient groups: those with non‐small cell lung cancer and those diagnosed with a variety of non‐neoplastic lung conditions. We observed marked variation in bronchiolization of the alveoli morphology ranging from normal to severely atypical and developed a classification scheme based on growth pattern, cell number and cytologic criteria. Patterns of differentiation, proliferation and growth factor receptor and oncogene expression were studied using immuno‐histochemical and in situ hybridization techniques. While low‐grade (0–I) bronchiolization of the alveoli lesions demonstrated markers similar to normal bronchiolar epithelium, a significant decrease in the Clara cell 10 kDa protein and tubulin and an increase in surfactant protein‐A expression were observed in high‐grade (II–III) lesions. Focal p53 expression was detected in 2 high‐grade lesions, while c‐ myc mRNA and cJun protein were observed in all grades. No correlation was observed between bronchiolization of the alveoli incidence and histologic tumor type. A comparison of marker expression in lesions and tumors from the same case revealed a negative correlation between cytokeratin‐14 and c‐erbB‐2 immuno‐reactivity. Only one bronchialization of the alveoli lesion was found in the non‐neoplastic patient group. We conclude that up to 12% of non‐small cell lung cancer resection specimens contain bronchiolization of the alveoli lesions which exhibit altered morphology and patterns of differentiation. Int. J. Cancer 75:489–496, 1998. Published 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.