Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-1-2019
Abstract
CONTEXT.—: Metastatic mucinous tumors present a diagnostic challenge for pathologists as tumor histomorphology is often nonspecific and optimal immunoprofiles are still under investigation.
OBJECTIVE.—: To present a head-to-head comparison of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2) and caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2) expression in a diverse array of primary mucinous tumors.
DESIGN.—: SATB2 and CDX2 immunohistochemical stains were performed on whole sections from 44 mucinous colorectal carcinomas and 175 noncolorectal mucinous tumors. A nuclear scoring system measuring intensity (0-3+) and percentage staining (0 =
RESULTS.—: SATB2 demonstrated acceptable accuracy at low to moderate expression levels (H-scores of 1-4). With these H-score cutoffs, overall accuracy was greater than 90%. In contrast, CDX2's accuracy rivaled that of SATB2 only at an H-score of 5 (89.0%), as its specificity suffered at lower expression levels (
CONCLUSIONS.—: SATB2 is a more accurate marker of colorectal origin across a variety of expression levels compared with CDX2 when applied to mucinous tumors from a host of primary sites. However, these stains are near equivalent when each is interpreted at its optimal expression level.
Recommended Citation
Brettfeld SM, Ramos BD, Berry RS, Martin DR, Hanson JA. SATB2 Versus CDX2: A Battle Royale for Diagnostic Supremacy in Mucinous Tumors. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2019 Sep;143(9):1119-1125. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2018-0337-OA. Epub 2019 Mar 6. PMID: 30838879.