Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pathology

Objectives: Evaluation of podoplanin immunohistochemical expression in lymphatic vessels, Cancer associated fibroblasts and tumor cells of hepatocellular carcinoma and correlation of its expression with various clinicopathological parameters in order to determine its role in hepatocarcinogenesis.Methods: A total of 40 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded hepatocellular carcinoma cases were collected. All the available data were collected from the patients{u2019} reports. The paraffin blocks were sectioned and stained with hematoxylin & eosin stains for histological reassessment. Additional sections were immunostained withpodoplanin. Membranous and cytoplasmic staining was considered as positive expression. Podoplanin expression was evaluated in lymphatic vessels, Cancer associated fibroblasts and tumor cells. Results: Positive expression of podoplanin was detected in lymphatic vessels of all casesand was categorized into low and high based on the mean value; High expression was seen in 52.5% of the studied HCC cases. (17.5%) of the studied cases showed positive podoplanin expression in Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs). Podoplanin positive immunostaining was detected in tumor cells of 87.5% of the studied cases distributed as follows; More than one third (40%) expressed (1-10% of tumor area), (30%)expressed ({u2265}10 to {uF03C}50) and (17.5 %) expressed {u2265} 50%.HCV caused HCC, cases associated with cirrhosis and moderately differentiated cases showed morepodoplanin expression. Conclusion: Podoplanin was expressed in the lymphatic vessels of the hepatocellular carcinoma. It could be used as a marker for lymphangiogenesis assessing the degree of progression of the tumor of HCC so, it could be used as a prognostic marker for tumor progression

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