Prognostic value of quantitative p63 immunostaining in adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary gland assessed by computerized image analysis.

Background: In a long-term retrospective immunohistochemical study of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of salivary gland, we investigated the relation of p63 immunodetection to prognosis. Although it is generally agreed that the solid pattern is the most aggressive pattern of growth, ACCs with predominantly cribriform or tubular patterns have an unpredictable clinical course, with a relatively favorable 5-year survival but a low 20-year survival.

Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin sections from 35 cases of ACC showing a predominantly better differentiated histopathology, ie, cribriform or tubular patterns of growth, were immunostained for p63.