CK5 is more sensitive than CK5/6 in identifying the "basal-like" phenotype of breast carcinoma.

Abstract

Multiple immunohistochemical stains, including cytokeratin (CK)5/6, are used in a panel format to identify "basal-like" carcinomas. We set out to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the CK5 antibody (clone XM26) and compared its expression with that of CK5/6 (clone D5/16B4) in a variety of breast carcinoma cases. The study was performed on 3 breast carcinoma tissue microarrays (TMAs). TMA-1 consisted of 59 consecutive breast carcinoma cases. TMA-2 (n = 16) and TMA-3 (n = 11) consisted of basal-like breast carcinomas previously characterized morphologically and immunohistochemically at our institution. Of the 86 total cases, 20 were positive for CK5 and CK5/6, 14 were positive for CK5 only, and 52 were negative for both. The sensitivity of CK5 for identifying basal-like tumors was 97% compared with 59% for CK5/6. Both antibodies had comparable specificity of more than 95%. For positive cases, the percentage and intensity of staining was much higher with CK5 than with CK5/6 (P = .0001).

• Authors: Rohit Bhargava, Sushil Beriwal, Kim McManus, David J Dabbs
• Journal: American journal of clinical pathology (Am J Clin Pathol) Vol. 130 Issue 5 Pg. 724-30 (Nov 2008) ISSN: 1943-7722 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 18854264 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Keratin-5
• Keratin-6

Topics

• Adult
• Breast Neoplasms (diagnosis, pathology)
• Carcinoma, Basal Cell (diagnosis, pathology)
• Female
• Gene Expression Profiling (methods)
• Humans
• Keratin-5 (analysis, immunology)
• Keratin-6 (analysis, immunology)
• Sensitivity and Specificity