Search

Previous studies of tumors mainly focused on the abnormal proliferation of tumor cells, as the main force of this nosological entity, and on their differentiation into the new pathological cell types. The tumor stroma, as integral component of each neoplasm, is still not sufficiently examin ed and und ersto od . B earing in min d that b asal c ell c arcinoma o f t he s kin (BCCS) a re stromal dependent tumors, the aim of our research was to examine the microtopographical distribution of the antigens Ep-CAM, CD3 4 and CD9 0 in the stroma o f t he t umor r eg ions and peritumoral skin in different histopathological types of BCCS (superficial, solid/cystic, nodular, infiltrative, basosquamous). The material consisted of samples of skin and subcutaneous tissue obtained after surgery, which were routinely processed to paraffin tissue blocks, which were cut on microtome in order to obtain thin paraffin tissue sections. The tissue sections were stained histochemically with hematoxylin and eosin and with modified Movat’s pentachrome staining, as well as immunohistochemically on Ep-CAM, CD34 and CD90, before being submitted to descriptive micromophological analysis. Cells in tumor nests of examined BCCS do not express antigens CD34 and CD90, while the immunoreactivity toward the antigen Ep-CAM is present on the membrane of these cells in all examined types of BCCS, with the tendency of the decrease or complete loss of this reaction in places of squamous citodifferentiation in tumor nests. Tumor stroma of examined BCCS shows importantly higher level of immunohistochemical reactivity toward the antigen CD90 compared to CD34 antigen. With the increase of biological aggressiveness of BCCS, it is noticed that fibroblastoid cells of tumor stroma grow in size and number. CD34 antigen is not present in the perinodular and internodular compartments of tumor stroma, with the exception of nodular BCCS. Immunohistochemical reactivity toward the antigen CD90 is seen in the whole tumor st