Justakid Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Was reading my pathology report (should have been a doctor so I understood all this). It says they did immunohistochemical stains and there is reference to TTF-1, CK7 and CK20. Didn't know if anyone out there had run into these codes and could give some insite on what they were. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindi o'h Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Hey Beth, Maybe post under ask the experts. You got me, kid. Cindi o'h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 TTF is thyroid transcription factor and the CD7 and CD20 are antigens. They are protiens on the surface of cells. They are Immunohistochemical stains. Immunohistochemical staining is used to determine the type of cancer. Also some antigens are used as targets for therapy. Like CD20 is the target of the drug Rituxan TTF-1 staining is now routinely used to distinguish a primary lung cancer from a lung metastasis http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellakc2 Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Beth you got me??? Ask Dr. Joe I'm sure he could decode all that crap. Hopefully you don't have a new dx. For god sake! Take care and will be praying for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDianneB Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 John sez: "TTF is thyroid transcription factor and the CD7 and CD20 are antigens. They are protiens on the surface of cells. They are Immunohistochemical stains. Immunohistochemical staining is used to determine the type of cancer. Also some antigens are used as targets for therapy. Like CD20 is the target of the drug Rituxan Quote: TTF-1 staining is now routinely used to distinguish a primary lung cancer from a lung metastasis " Well boy, I sure know a LOT more about this than I did before! (pullin' yer leg, yanno!!!) Di Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 More info ... CD means cluster of differentiation and is an antigen found on leukocytes. white blood stem cells start as naive and then differentiate into specialized cells. I believe the CD tells what type of differentiated cell it is. I am not sure how this is related to lung cancer. I think the CD antigens are more related to the immune system I don't *think* the CD stains add in diagnosing lung cancer but I have read that TTF does http://www.jenner.ac.uk/bioinfo03/ImPRI ... iation.htm Dr Joe can hopefully provide more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 JustaKid, Sorry I read CD7 and CD20 in your post not CK7 and CK20 CK stands for Cytokeratin. http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/c ... 48/11/3221 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justakid Posted November 16, 2004 Author Share Posted November 16, 2004 Thanks, I found one of those studies that I think answered all my questions. In the study lung cancer shows positive in the TTF-1 and breast cancer shows negative in 76% of the cases studied. Either breast or lung caner can be CK7+/CK20- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 You answered your own question Beth. CK7 and CK20 are most helpful in differentiating whether cancer came from the GI tract or not. TTF-1 is highly specific but not very sensitive. In other words, if it's positive then it is very likely to be lung cancer (or thyroid cancer). If its negative, that doesn't help a lot because many lung cancers are TTF-1 negative. The special stains are helpful when used in context with histology (looking at the appearance under the microscope) but sometimes even a good pathologist just can't say with absolute certainty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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