Published in Cancer Detection and Prevention 1998; 22(Supplement 1).

Expression of nm23 in classic and goblet-cell carcinoid tumors of the appendix

H Brustmann MD PhD, S Naude MD

AIM: To investigate the role of nm23 in classic and goblet-cell carcinoid tumors of the appendix. METHODS: nm23 expression was determined in seven cases of classic and two cases of goblet-cell carcinoid tumors of the appendix by immunohistochemistry using an antibody reacting with the two human nm23 gene products, nm23-H1 and nm23-H2. All tumors were found incidentally in patients operated for acute appendicitis. One patient died of disseminated abdominal metastatic goblet-cell carcinoid 8 years after appendectomy. Immunostaining for nm23 was quantitated by evaluating the percentage of positive staining cells in each sample. RESULTS: If present, nm23 immunoreactivity was always cytoplasmic. It was found in all cases of classic carcinoid tumors of the appendix. The percentage of cells staining ranged between 90% and 100%, the intensity of the staining was strong. However, less than 30% of the tumor cells in the two cases of goblet-cell carcinoid tumors of the appendix displayed evidence of moderate to strong nm23 immunostaining. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the down-regulation of nm23 expression in goblet-cell carcinoid tumors compared to classic carcinoid tumors of the appendix might have a role in the sometimes more aggressive behavior and metastasis of the former.

KEY WORDS: nm23 expression, appendix, carcinoid tumor, carcinoid tumor, goblet cell carcinoid tumor, .

Paper presented at the International Symposium on the Impact of Biotechnology on Prediction, Prevention and Treatment of Cancer; Nice, France; October 24 - 27, 1998; in the section on Diagnostic Markers.

http://www.cancerprev.org/Journal/Issues/22/101/11/2744