Premium
Distinct Expression of Galectin‐3 in Pheochromocytomas
Author(s) -
GIMM OLIVER,
KRAUSE ULF,
BRAUCKHOFF MICHAEL,
HOANGVU CUONG,
DRALLE HENNING
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1353.028
Subject(s) - pheochromocytoma , galectin 3 , pathology , staining , immunohistochemistry , galectin , medicine , immunology
Unless distant metastases or local invasion are present, the diagnosis of malignant pheochromocytoma is challenging. Hence, biological markers are sought after and we thought to examine galectin‐3 in such a role. Four malignant and 24 benign (10 sporadic, 14 hereditary) pheochromocytomas were analyzed for the expression of galectin‐3. One malignant pheochromocytoma with distant metastases showed strong and one malignant undifferentiated pheochromocytoma with local invasion showed partly strong cytoplasmic staining. Nine of 10 sporadic and all hereditary benign pheochromocytomas had absent/weak staining. One benign sporadic pheochromocytoma had moderate cytoplasmic staining. The distinct expression in various types of pheochromocytomas is intriguing and requires further investigation.