AN IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF ANTI-AMYLASE ANTIBODY REACTIVITY IN ACINIC CELL ADENOCARCINOMA

In many salivary acinic cell adenocarcinomas, well-differentiated sero us acinar-type cells may be few and inconspicuous. In these cases it m ay be difficult to distinguish acinic cell adenocarcinoma from other t ypes of salivary gland neoplasms such as cystadenocarcinoma. The usefu lness of antisalivary amylase antibody immunohistochemical staining as a diagnostic aid was assessed on paraffin-embedded tissue sections fr om 27 typical acinic cell adenocarcinomas. Only 4 of 27 tumors showed reactivity in tumor cells. We conclude that anti-amylase antibody is o f limited value in the recognition of acinic cell adenocarcinoma when light morphologic features are insufficient for diagnosis.