Differential immunohistochemical localization of desmosomal plaque-related proteins in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Aims: Immunohistochemistry is a highly valuable and widely used tool in the subtyping of lung carcinomas. The aim of this study was to identify markers for the differential diagnosis of non-small-cell carcinomas.

Methods And Results: We report on the immunohistochemical localization of plakophilin-1 (PKP1), keratin-15 (KRT15) and desmoglein-3 (DSG3) intercellular adhesion proteins in samples from 75 primary non-small-cell lung cancers in non-treated patients.