CERVICAL ADENOCARCINOMAS EXPRESS MARKERS COMMON TO GASTRIC, INTESTINAL, AND PANCREATICOBILIARY EPITHELIAL-CELLS

Frequency and pattern of expression of eight markers of gastric, intes tinal, and pancreatobiliary duct epithelial cells have been investigat ed by histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques in 85 cases of cervical adenocarcinomas. Ml, a mucin antigen, and Cathepsin E (CaE), an aspartic proteinase, markers of normal gastric superficial/foveolar epithelial cells, are expressed in 40 and SS tumors, respectively. Pe riodic acid-concanavalin A-reactive mucin or Pepsinogen (PG) II, marke rs of gastric mucus neck and pyloric gland cells, are found in 24 tumo rs, 13 of which also express Ml and CaE. CAR-S and M3SI, markers of in testinal mucin, are expressed in 68 and 12 tumors and DU-PAN-2, marker of normal pancreatobiliary duct cells, is found in 46 tumors. All but two tumors express at least one of the eight markers studied, none ex press PG I, marker of gastric chief cells. The different histologic su btypes of cervical adenocarcinomas expressed to a variable degree both gastrointestinal and pancreatobiliary markers. Only endocervical type tumors, however, showed the full spectrum of mucosal pyloric type dif ferentiation, including the expression of PGII which is not present in any other histotype, A correlation between expression of gastroentero pancreatic markers and tumor grade is not apparent in our series.