Cancer Res Treat.  2010 Jun;42(2):107-114.

The Keratin-14 Expression in Actinic Keratosis and Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Is This a Prognostic Factor for Tumor Progression?

• Choi KH
• Kim GM
• Kim SY

Abstract

PURPOSE
Actinic keratosis (AK) is an incipient form of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We determined if the pattern of expression of keratin-14 (K14) is a factor for tumor progression in AK and SCC.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Eighteen sections from the tissues of 16 patients were stained with anti-K14 antibody and p16(INK4a). Among the 16 patients, 4 were diagnosed with both SCC and AK at the same site, but AK developed first and SCC developed subsequently. Thus, SCC may have evolved from AK. The other 12 patients were only diagnosed with AK.
RESULTS
In all of the AK and SCC tissues, basement membranes showed positive staining for K14. However, strong reactivities were shown in the spinous and granular layers and focuses of dermal invasion in the SCC tissues developed from AK. Two and 3 of the 12 AK cases had moderately positive reactions for K14 in the spinous and granular layers, respectively. Also, all SCC tissues except one had moderate-to-strong reactions in the basal, spinous, and granular layers for p16(INK4a). Two of the 12 AK cases had weak-to-moderate positive reactions in the basal, spinous, and horny layers for p16(INK4a).
CONCLUSION
The results of our study advance our understanding of the pathogenesis of SCC developing from AK. The results also indicate a differential role in the control of K14 in normal epithelia, AK, and SCC. K14 expression in the spinous and granular layers may be a prognostic factor for tumor progression of AK.

Keyword

Keratosis; Actinic; Keratin-14; p16(INK4a); Carcinoma; Squamous cell

MeSH Terms

Actins
Basement Membrane
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16
Humans
Keratin-14
Keratosis
Keratosis, Actinic
Actins
Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16
Keratin-14

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The basal layer of the epidermis had strong reactivity for CK14 in normal tissues, but the other layers showed negative or mild reactivity for CK14 (original magnification, ×400).

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  Fig. 2 (A) Histologic findings of case 1 (SCC; H&E, ×200), (B) CK14 expression showed moderate reactivity in the spinous and granular layers and in the tumor cells that invaded the dermis (original magnification, ×200), (C) p16INK4a expression showed weak reactivity in the whole layers (original magnification, ×200).

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  Fig. 3 (A) Histologic findings of case 2 (SCC; H&E, ×200), (B) CK14 expression showed strong reactivity in the spinous and granular layers and dermal invasion (original magnification, ×100), (C) p16INK4a expression showed a moderate-to-strong reaction in the basal and spinous layers (original magnification, ×200).

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  Fig. 4 (A) Histologic findings of case 3 (SCC; H&E, ×200), (B) CK14 expression showed strong reactivity in the spinous and granular layers and dermal invasion (original magnification, ×200), (C) p16INK4a expression showed moderate-to-strong reaction in the basal and spinous layers (original magnification, ×200).

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  Fig. 5 (A) Histologic findings of case 4 (SCC; H&E, ×200) (B) CK14 expression showed strong reactivity in the spinous and granular layers and dermal invasion (original magnification, ×200), (C) p16INK4a expression showed a moderate-to-strong reaction in the basal and spinous layers (original magnification, ×200).

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  Fig. 6 (A) Histologic findings of case 7 (AK; H&E, ×200), (B) CK14 expression showed negative reactivity in the spinous and granular layers (original magnification, ×200), (C) p16INK4a expression showed negative reactivity in the entire layer (original magnification, ×200).

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  Fig. 7 (A) Histologic findings of case 9 (AK; H&E, ×200), (B) CK14 expression showed moderate reactivity in the spinous and granular layers (original magnification, ×200), (C) The p16INK4a expression showed weak-to-moderate reactivity in the basal and spinous layers (original magnification, ×200).

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