Neural cell adhesion molecule expression in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck

Objective: To investigate whether there is a correlation Between neural cel l adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression and perineural spread in patients wit h adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck (ACCHN), Study Design: Retr ospective review of medical records and immunohistochemical staining of spe cimens from 37 patients treated at the University of Arkansas in Little Roc k from 1987 to 1997. Methods: Sections from paraffin-embedded specimens wer e examined for the presence of NCAM using monoclonal anti-NCAM antibody by avidin-biotin-peroxidase immunohistochemical staining. NCAM staining was sc ored in each specimen and correlated with the data obtained from patient ch arts. Results: Twenty-five of 37 specimens (68%) showed histopathological e vidence of perineural spread. All 37 specimens (100%) stained positive for NCAM, regardless of perineural spread status. Conclusion: Our results sugge sted that the use of NCAM expression as a predictor of perineural spread is highly unlikely.