Esophageal carcinoma with adenoid cystic differentiation--an immunohistochemical study of two cases with special reference to their histological origin]

Two cases of an esophageal carcinoma with an adenoid cystic differentiation are presented. The first was diagnosed histologically as typical adenoid cystic carcinoma, and the other as being a basal cell carcinoma with an adenoid cystic differentiation. We further investigated these tumors and normal esophageal specimens to determine their histological origin by immunohistochemical staining with either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies to different classes of human keratin. It was found that both tumors were similar in their reactivities with the anti-keratin antibodies to basal cells of the surface squamous epithelia, but not to the cells composing the esophageal glands, suggesting that they were of basal cell origin.