A clinicopathological and immunohistological re-evaluation of adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung.

Since the World Health Organization histological criteria were published in 1999, several studies have focused on adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung. Therefore, we aimed to clinicopathologically re-evaluate this tumor using immunohistochemical methods. In our hospital, there have been 21 surgically resected adenosquamous carcinomas. The frequency of adenosquamous carcinoma was 1.9% and the clinical data including the patient prognosis data obtained in this study were similar to those reported previously. A fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography study first revealed that the median maximum standardized uptake value of adenosquamous carcinoma was 9.3 and ranged from 2.0 to 24.5. According to the results of immunohistochemical staining for thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and p63, adenosquamous carcinomas were divided into four subgroups: group 1, TTF-1+ and p63+ (10 cases); group 2, TTF-1- and p63+ (six cases); group 3, TTF-1+ and p63- (three cases); and group 4, TTF-1- and p63- (two cases). Of the six group 2 tumors, three were composed of unique solid nests with mucin-filled cysts and showed characteristic p63 expression, which might suggest a special type of adenosquamous carcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis of TTF-1 and p63 expression shows that adenosquamous carcinoma is composed of diverse tumor groups, for which the biological and histogenetic nature further needs to be clarified.