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Increased expression of enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) differentiates squamous cell carcinoma from normal skin and actinic keratosis

  • Investigative Report
  • Published:
European Journal of Dermatology

Abstract

Background

Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) is a polycomb group protein that has been shown to be involved in the progression of multiple human cancers including melanoma. The expression of EZH2 in normal skin and in pre-malignant and malignant cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has not been studied.

Objectives

We examined the expression of EZH2 in normal skin, actinic keratosis (AK), SCC in situ, well-differentiated (SCC-WD), moderately-differentiated (SCC-MD) and poorly-differentiated SCC (SCC-PD) to ascertain whether EZH2 expression differentiates these conditions.

Materials and Methods

Immunohistochemical staining for EZH2 was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsies and a tissue microarray containing normal skin, AK, SCC in situ, and SCC of different grades.

Results

In comparison to the normal skin, EZH2 expression in actinic keratosiswas increased (p = 0.03). Similarly, EZH2 expression in all of the neoplastic conditions studied (SCC in situ, SCC-WD, SCC-MD and SCC-PD) was greatly increased in comparison to both the normal skin and actinic keratosis (p≤0.001).

Conclusion

EZH2 expression increases incrementally from normal skin to AK and further to SCC, suggesting a role for EZH2 in the progression and differentiation of SCC. EZH2 expression may be used as a diagnostic marker for differentiating SCC from AK or normal skin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA

    Qiang Xie, Hongbei Wang, Edward R. Heilman, M. A. Haseeb & Raavi Gupta

  2. Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA

    Edward R. Heilman

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA

    Michael G. Walsh

Authors
  1. Qiang Xie
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  2. Hongbei Wang
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  3. Edward R. Heilman
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  4. Michael G. Walsh
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  5. M. A. Haseeb
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  6. Raavi Gupta
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Correspondence to Raavi Gupta.

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Xie, Q., Wang, H., Heilman, E.R. et al. Increased expression of enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) differentiates squamous cell carcinoma from normal skin and actinic keratosis. Eur J Dermatol 24, 41–45 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2013.2219

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2013.2219

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