Laminin-5 gamma 2 chain expression facilitates detection of invasive lesions.

2004 SEP 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gynecologic oncologists at the Karolinska Hospital in Sweden report that laminin-5 gamma 2 chain expression facilitates detection of invasive squamous cell carcinoma lesions of the cervix.

A monoclonal antibody directed against the gamma2 chain of laminin-5 was used to evaluate "specimens from patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix with a previous history of preinvasive lesions," P. Stoltzfus and colleagues said.

According to background information in their study, "it has been suggested that laminin-5 can be used as a sensitive marker for epithelial cell invasion."

Paraffin specimens were made from matched preinvasive and invasive lesions from 15 women. The 32 specimens "were evaluated to determine whether gamma2 chain laminin-5 staining was present in lesions that progressed to invasive cancer," the researchers explained.

They reported that except for "one tumor (a small cell nonkeratinizing squamous carcinoma), all squamous cell carcinomas exhibited positive staining. Five of 17 preinvasive lesions also were immunoreactive for the laminin-5 protein."

"A blinded histologic reevaluation revealed invasion or lesions suspicious ...