| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥1,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Distinguishing basal cell carcinoma (BCC) from other benign appendageal tumors is sometimes a difficult task for the pathologists. Since the activation of hedgehog signals is well documented in BCC, a molecular technique measuring transcripts of genes involved in this signaling pathway may aide the diagnosis.To assess whether a real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) measuring Gli1, Gli2 and patched (PTCH) mRNA expression is of help in the classification of basaloid cell neoplasms of the skin.Sixty-eight cases of skin tumors including14BCCs, 12 squamous cell carcinomas(SCCs), 8 seborrheic keratoses, and 34 basaloid cell neoplasms of the skin with ambiguous histologic diagnosis.Measurement of Gli1, Gli2 and PTCH transcript levels by real-time quantitative RT-PCR using RNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues.Independent review of hematoxilin and eosin-stained pathology slides of 34 ambiguous cases by three expert dermatopathologists.The expression of Gli1, Gli2 and PTCH mRNA were significantly elevated in BCCs while being absent in SCCs and seborrheic keratoses.Among the three genes examined, Gli1 was the most sensitive and specific marker for discriminating BCC from other tumors.Pathological diagnosis by the three experts was concordant in 19 of 34 ambiguous cases.Tumors designated as BCC (7) and trichoepithelioma(5) showed high Gli1 transcript levels, whereas expression was undetectable in sebaceous epithelioma/carcinoma(2), eccrine poroma/porocarcinoma(5) and Bowen's disease(1).Although trichoepithelioma was not discriminated from BCC by the Gli1 transcript level alone, the mean PTCH transcript level and the mean PTCH/Gli2 ratio were both significantly lower in trichoepithelioma than in BCC.Quantification of Gli1, Gli2 and PTCH transcripts by RT-PCR is helpful in discriminating BCC from other appendageal tumors.
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