Perfil inmunohistoquímico del mixoma odontogénico, con énfasis en marcadores de agresividad tumoral y microdensidad vascular

Immunohistochemistry tests wereperformed in 31 samples to elucidate thebiological behavior of the odontogenicmyxoma (OM), using markers related tomechanisms of tumor progression (adhesion,angiogenesis, apoptosis, inflammationand cell proliferation). Odontogenicepithelium was detected in four sampleswith CK19 and CD138; the latter had alow expression in the extracellular matrix(ECM) and a high expression in tumorcells. The mean microvascular density(MVD), assessed with CD34 and VEGF-A,was 7.51 and 5.35 blood vessels. A highexpression of orosomucoid-1 and mast celltryptase was observed in tumor cells andECM, while calretinin was negative. Theimmunohistochemical profile mentionedabove, as well as the low expression of Ki-67, Bcl-2 and p53 and the relatively lowMVD, suggest that the proliferative, antiapoptoticand angiogenic activities do notrepresent the main growing mechanismsof OM, which could be associated to otherevents, such as immunomodulation andECM degradation.