Study of D2-40 immunoexpression of the spindle cell areas of a metaplastic basal cell carcinoma (sarcomatoid basal cell carcinoma).

Abstract

Sarcomatoid basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is rare. In the literature, data on the prognosis of such a variant is somewhat contradictory. D2-40 immunoexpression has been shown to have prognostic connotations in carcinomas of organs other than the skin. However, although D2-40 immunoexpression has been investigated in "common" (nonsarcomatoid) BCC, it has not yet been studied in the spindle cell component of a sarcomatoid BCC. We present a sarcomatoid BCC on the neck of an 87-year-old man that has grown rapidly over the last few months. The sarcomatoid component of the tumor expressed several types of cytokeratins, such as AE1/AE3, CK 5/6, 34betaE12, and CAM 5.2. It was also positive for p63 and for D2-40 in a diffuse pattern.