Abstract
Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the significance of phospho-histone H3 (PHH3) in uterine sarcoma by comparing mitotic activity or cellular proliferative capacity between leiomyosarcoma (LS) and carcinosarcoma (CS). Methods: Histology specimens were taken from 22 patients with uterine sarcoma (12 patients with LS and 12 patients with CS). Immunostaining was performed using a monoclonal anti-PHH3 antibody (Upstate Biotechnology; prediluted, polyclonal) and a monoclonal anti-Ki-67 antibody (NICHIREI; prediluted, clone; SP6) and by the simple staining MAX-PO MULTI (NICHIREI) procedure. In addition, mitotic indices were obtained from HE-stained sections. Results: The PHH3 proliferation index ranged from 0.47 to 2.90 (mean, 1.48) in LS, 0.39 to 4.93 (mean, 1.90) in the sarcomatous component of CS, and 0.62 to 8.35 (mean, 3.79) in the carcinoma component of CS. The Ki-67 proliferation index ranged from 14.41 to 70.03 (mean, 37.47) in LS, 16.18 to 60.91 (mean, 39.88) in the sarcomatous component of CS, and 16.36 to 80.61 (mean, 44.49) in the carcinoma component of CS. The mitotic count ranged from 0.10 to 1.38 (mean, 0.62) in LS, 0.10 to 2.38 (mean, 0.76) in the sarcomatous component of CS, and 0.10 to 2.19 (mean, 1.24) in the carcinoma component of CS. Conclusion: The PHH3 expression correlated well with that of Ki-67 and identified MFs precisely. The anti-PHH3 antibody is considered to be useful for the evaluation of the MF index and cellular proliferative capacity.
