Primary mucinous carcinomas of the skin express TFF1, TFF3, estrogen receptor, and progesterone receptors

Mucinous carcinoma may present at various sites, including the breast and the gastrointestinal tract. Rarely, such tumors arise within the skin. Comparatively, breast lesions are relatively common and usually associated with a good prognosis. When pure, they are typically estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) positive and responsive to tamoxifen. The authors studied 12 mucinous carcinomas of the skin and compared the morphology with that of typical mammary lesions. The authors also evaluated for expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and the mucus-associated peptides of the trefoil factor family (TFF), TFF1 (formerly pS2) and TFF2 (formerly SP), using immunohistochemistry. The localization of mRNAs for TFF1, TFF2, and TFF3 (formally ITF) was also studied in a subset of three tumors, using in-situ hybridization with S35 labeled riboprobes. The Grimelius stain was used to look for evidence of neuroendocrine differentiation. Eight resembled type A mucinous carcinomas of the breast, two resembled type B, and one had composite features. The 12th was a papillary neoplasm. The two type B tumors exhibited argyrophilia. All showed strong nuclear staining with the estrogen receptor antibody but a more varied pattern with antibodies to progesterone receptor and TFF1. None labeled for TFF2. The detection of TFF1 in mammalian skin is a novel finding. Cutaneous mucinous carcinoma shows strong similarities to its mammary counterpart, including expression of estrogen receptor, TFF1, and TFF3 mRNA. These observations suggest that some mucinous carcinomas of the skin might respond to antiestrogenic therapies.