CDX-2 expression in pulmonary fine-needle aspiration specimens: A useful adjunct for the diagnosis of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma

CDX-2 is a homeobox gene, which encodes a transcription factor that plays a vital role in the development and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells. Recent studies showed that CDX-2 protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) has a high predictive value for confirming the diagnosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma (ACA). The differentiation of primary pulmonary ACA from metastatic colorectal ACA can be extremely challenging on fine-needle aspiration (FNA). The results of immunostains for TTF-1, CK 7, and CK 20 may be controversial in the differential diagnosis. In this study, we evaluated the clinical utility of CDX-2 in lung FNA specimens. Cell blocks from 41 primary lung and 20 colorectal ACAs metastatic to the lungs were retrieved. Cell block sections were immunostained with a CDX-2 monoclonal antibody. Sensitivity and specificity of CDX-2 for colorectal ACA was 75 and 100%, respectively. All five cases negative for CDX-2 were moderately to poorly differentiated colorectal ACAs. Our study confirms that CDX-2 is a highly useful immunohistochemical marker for the differentiation of primary pulmonary ACA from colorectal ACA metastatic to the lungs in FNA specimens. Of diagnostic importance is the loss of CDX-2 immunoreactivity in poorly differentiated colorectal ACAs. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2006;34:191–195. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.