Expression of metallothionein I/II and Ki-67 antigen in various histological types of basal cell carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent skin cancer, with many different histological subtypes.Recent studies have investigated the expression of proliferative markers, but little is known about theexpression of metallothioneins (MT) in different histological subtypes of this cancer and their impact on proliferationintensity in BCC. In this study, we examined MT-I/II expression by immunohistochemistry in 58 differenthistological subtypes of BCC (38 nodular, six adenoid, eight infiltrative, and six metatypic cases) and correlatedits expression with tumor size and Ki-67 proliferation rate. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differencesin the expression of studied markers in regard to the histological subtype. A positive correlation betweenMT and Ki-67 expression was observed for all the studied cases (r = 0.26; p = 0.049), but was evenstronger in the metatypic subtype of BCC (r = 0.85; p = 0.033). MT and Ki-67 expression did not correlate withtumor size. In conclusion, it seems that metallothioneins may have an impact on the proliferation rate of BCC,but further studies are required to determine whether MT may be a risk factor of recurrences.Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent skin cancer, with many different histological subtypes.Recent studies have investigated the expression of proliferative markers, but little is known about theexpression of metallothioneins (MT) in different histological subtypes of this cancer and their impact on proliferationintensity in BCC. In this study, we examined MT-I/II expression by immunohistochemistry in 58 differenthistological subtypes of BCC (38 nodular, six adenoid, eight infiltrative, and six metatypic cases) and correlatedits expression with tumor size and Ki-67 proliferation rate. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differencesin the expression of studied markers in regard to the histological subtype. A positive correlation betweenMT and Ki-67 expression was observed for all the studied cases (r = 0.26; p = 0.049), but was evenstronger in the metatypic subtype of BCC (r = 0.85; p = 0.033). MT and Ki-67 expression did not correlate withtumor size. In conclusion, it seems that metallothioneins may have an impact on the proliferation rate of BCC,but further studies are required to determine whether MT may be a risk factor of recurrences