Immunohistochemical expression of β-catenin in osteoblastoma and osteosarcoma

Abstract

Introduction Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most prevalent primary malignant tumor of bone in adolescents. Osteoblastoma (OB) is a rare benign bone tumor with a few aggressive variants. The differentiation between OS (low-grade types) OB (especially aggressive variant) by microscopic examination alone can be difficult, especially when using small biopsy specimens. Recently, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway has emerged as an essential pathway in bone development. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of β-catenin in OS and OB and its possible role in tumor diagnosis and prognosis. Materials and methods In total, 28 biopsies of OS (18 male and 10 female) and 12 cases of OB (10 male and two female) were examined for β-catenin immunostaining. Results β-Catenin showed cytoplasmic expression in 5/28 (17.9%) OS samples and in 8/12 (66.7%) OB samples, with a statistically significant relationship (P>0.008). Conclusion β-Catenin is a valuable tumor marker to differentiate between OS and OB, especially the aggressive variant.

Keywords

• β-catenin
• osteoblastoma
• osteosarcoma