Distinctive expression profiles of Caveolin-1 and Notch-1 protein in patients with nasal polyps or sinonasal inverted papillomas.

Background: Nasal polyposis (NP) and sinonasal inverted papillomas (SIP) are considered benign lesions capable of recurrence or malignant transformation although not with the same prevalence. Since fluctuations of Caveolin-1 and Notch-1 proteins expression have been reported in many pathologies, the current study aimed to investigate their involvement in the epithelial transformation observed in SIPs compared to NP.

Methods: Immunohistochemical expression of Caveolin-1 and Notch-1 proteins was assessed in 104 patients with sinonasal lesions (45 NP, 45 SIP and 14 NP with SIP), semiquantively (percentage times intensity).