Comparison of Immunohistochemical Expression of Cytokeratin 19, c-KIT, BerEP4, GATA3, and NUTM1 Between Porocarcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Distinguishing porocarcinoma from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is clinically significant; however, differential diagnosis can often be challenging. This study sought to confirm the diagnostic utility of cytokeratin 19, c-KIT, BerEP4, GATA3, and NUTM1 immunohistochemistry in distinguishing porocarcinoma from SCC. Immunohistochemical analysis of cytokeratin 19, c-KIT, BerEP4, GATA3, and NUTM1 in 14 porocarcinomas and 22 SCCs was performed; the extents and intensities of expression of these markers were recorded. The statistical associations of the immunoexpression between porocarcinoma and SCC were analyzed using the Pearson chi(2) test. Cytokeratin 19 was positive in 13 (92.9%) of 14 porocarcinomas, and for all the positive cases, staining was strong and evident in >20% of the tumor cells. By contrast, 9 (40.9%) of 22 SCCs expressed cytokeratin 19 (P = 0.0018), of which 6 showed extremely focal (<= 10% of the tumor cells) expression. Of the 14 porocarcinomas, 11 (78.6%) cases showed c-KIT positivity, whereas only 3 of 22 SCCs (13.6%) expressed c-KIT focally (P = 0.0001). In addition, BerEP4 immunostaining differed between porocarcinomas and SCCs (57.1% vs. 9.1%, respectively; P = 0.0017). However, no significant difference between the groups was reported in terms of GATA3 expression (57.1% vs. 72.7%, respectively; P = 0.3336). NUTM1 was expressed in 4/14 (28.6%) porocarcinomas but not in the SCCs. Immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin 19, c-KIT, and BerEP4 could be helpful in distinguishing porocarcinomas from SCCs. In addition, NUTM1 immunoexpression is highly specific, although not sensitive, to porocarcinomas. GATA3 immunohistochemistry has no meaningful implications in the differential diagnosis of porocarcinoma and SCC.