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Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent skin cancer, with many different histological subtypes.&lt;br /&gt;Recent studies have investigated the expression of proliferative markers, but little is known about the&lt;br /&gt;expression of metallothioneins (MT) in different histological subtypes of this cancer and their impact on proliferation&lt;br /&gt;intensity in BCC. In this study, we examined MT-I/II expression by immunohistochemistry in 58 different&lt;br /&gt;histological subtypes of BCC (38 nodular, six adenoid, eight infiltrative, and six metatypic cases) and correlated&lt;br /&gt;its expression with tumor size and Ki-67 proliferation rate. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences&lt;br /&gt;in the expression of studied markers in regard to the histological subtype. A positive correlation between&lt;br /&gt;MT and Ki-67 expression was observed for all the studied cases (r = 0.26; p = 0.049), but was even&lt;br /&gt;stronger in the metatypic subtype of BCC (r = 0.85; p = 0.033). MT and Ki-67 expression did not correlate with&lt;br /&gt;tumor size. In conclusion, it seems that metallothioneins may have an impact on the proliferation rate of BCC,&lt;br /&gt;but further studies are required to determine whether MT may be a risk factor of recurrences. &lt;br /&gt;<br>Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent skin cancer, with many different histological subtypes.&lt;br /&gt;Recent studies have investigated the expression of proliferative markers, but little is known about the&lt;br /&gt;expression of metallothioneins (MT) in different histological subtypes of this cancer and their impact on proliferation&lt;br /&gt;intensity in BCC. In this study, we examined MT-I/II expression by immunohistochemistry in 58 different&lt;br /&gt;histological subtypes of BCC (38 nodular, six adenoid, eight infiltrative, and six metatypic cases) and correlated&lt;br /&gt;its expression with tumor size and Ki-67 proliferation rate. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences&lt;br /&gt;in the expression of studied markers in regard to the histological subtype. A positive correlation between&lt;br /&gt;MT and Ki-67 expression was observed for all the studied cases (r = 0.26; p = 0.049), but was even&lt;br /&gt;stronger in the metatypic subtype of BCC (r = 0.85; p = 0.033). MT and Ki-67 expression did not correlate with&lt;br /&gt;tumor size. In conclusion, it seems that metallothioneins may have an impact on the proliferation rate of BCC,&lt;br /&gt;but further studies are required to determine whether MT may be a risk factor of recurrences. &lt;br /&gt;