The Use of Desmocollin-2 and Cytokeratin-14 for Detection of Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Squamous Differentiation in Urothelial Carcinoma

Objective: To investigate Desmocollin-2 (DSC-2) compared to Cytokeratin-14 (CK-14) for detection of Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) and squamous differentiation of Urothelial Carcinoma (UC) of the urinary bladder.Methods: The study included 90 cases of radical cystectomy specimens (69 and 21 ) divided into 35 cases SCC, 38 cases UC, 13 cases undifferentiated carcinoma and 4 cases adenocarcinoma. The tissue blocks were examined for the expression of DSC-2 and CK-14 using the immunohistochemical technique.Results: DSC-2 was expressed in 35.5% of UC, 100% of SCC and 54% of undifferentiated carcinoma, and is correlated with SCC Grade and clinical stage. CK-14 was expressed in 35.5% of UC, 100% of SCC and 69% ofundifferentiated carcinoma and its expression is correlated with SCC tumor stage. DSC-2 had a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 79.2% compared to a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 83.3% for CK-14 in detecting SCC and squamous differentiation of UC.Conclusion: DSC-2 is a new marker for detection of SCC and squamous differentiation of UC of the urinary bladder.