Table 2 Histochemical and immunohistochemical methods used to differentiate mesothelioma from adenocarcinoma
Epithelioid mesotheliomaAdenocarcinoma
Histochemistry
    PAS+ (glycogen)+ (small amount of glycogen with mucin)
    plus diastase– (almost always)+
    Alcian blueMay be +
    plus hyaluronidase+Usually still +
Immunohistochemistry–
    Calretinin+–
    CK5/6+–
    WT-1+–
    Thrombomodulin+–
    HBME-1+–
    N-cadherin+–
    CEA–+
    MOC-31–+
    Ber EP4–+
    B72.3–+
    LeuM1 (CD15)–+
    E-cadherin–+
    Lewisy (BG8)–+
    TTF-1–+ (lung and thyroid)
    OthersEitherOr

  • Note that all may give aberrant or unexpected results occasionally and need to be assessed in combination, and also that adenocarcinomas from non-pulmonary sites may show different expression (for sensitivities and specificities see King et al53 and Ordonez54).