engleski

Expression of c-myc and CD31 in medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is a highly malignant brain tumor of neuroectodermal origin. Changes in cell physiology that determine malignant phenotype are, among others, self-sufficiency in growth signals and angiogenesis. C-myc is a protooncogene and CD 31 is an adhesion molecule highly expressed on endothelial cells. The increased expression of c- myc is related to neoplastic transformation and angiogenesis. We retrospectively reviewed 11 cases of medulloblastoma in children, in which we analyzed the expression of CD31 and c-myc. Formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tumor tissue was immunostained. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed following microwave streptavidin immunoperoxidase (MSIP) protocol on a DAKO TechMate™ Horizon automated immunostainer (DAKO). The intensity of staining for c-myc was graded semiquantitatively in 1 high-power field (HPF) and denoted as (-) for no immunostaining, (+) for weak staining, (++) for moderate staining and (+++) for intense staining. CD 31 was assessed as microvascular density (MVD) per 1 HPF and results were expressed semiquantitatively as 1 for up to 20 blood vessels per HPF, 2 for >20 to 40 blood vessels per HPF and 3 for more than 40 blood vessels per HPF. Most (n=6) medulloblastomas showed weak (+) c-myc expression. MVD was 1 in 5 cases, 2 in 4 cases and 3 in 2 cases. In conclusion, the expression of c-myc and CD 31 may have an important role in assessing the biological behavior of the tumor and therefore could be used as molecular markers of disease evolution and progression. However, further investigation in a larger number of cases is obviously needed.

Expression of c-myc and CD31; medulloblastom

nije evidentirano