Immunophenotype and molecular characterisation of adenocarcinoma of the small intestine

Background: Despite having a dramatically larger surface area than the large intestine, the small intestine is an infrequent site for the development of adenocarcinoma. To better understand the molecular abnormalities in small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA), we characterised a number of candidate oncogenic pathways and the immunophenotype of this rare cancer. Methods: Tissue microarrays were constructed from tumour samples from 54 patients with all stages of the disease. Immunohistochemistry and microsatellite instability (MSI) testing were conducted. Results: The profile of cytokeratin 20 and 7 coexpression was variable, but expression of caudal type homeobox transcription factor 2 (CDX2) was …