Expression of Human Kallikreins 4, 8, 10, 11 and 13 in Pleomorphic Adenomas and Mucoepidermoid Carcinomas

BACKGROUND: In cancers of prostate, breast, oropharynx, lung, hypopharynx and skin, human tissue kallikreins has been demonstrated as a main role in these problems. There are many research works in which some human tissue kallikreins are expressed in salivary glands. In the present study, the main goal was to determine expression of human tissue kallikreins 4, 8, 10, 11 and 13 in pleomorphic adenomas and mucoepidermoid carcinomas. METHODS: Sixty-six specimens (45 cases of pleomorphic adenomas and 21 cases mucoepidermoid carcinomas) were selected for final analysis by immunohistochemistry. For doing association test, clinical parameters obtained from the patients’ medical charts, which included age, gender were used and the nonparametric tests employed for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The expression of human kallikreins 4, 8, 11 and 13 was more prominent in benign and malignant tumors compared to that in normal tissues and the difference was significant. In addition, the expression of human kallikreins 4, 8, 10 and 11 in malignant tumors was more than that in benign tumors, with statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION: The differences in the levels of human kallikreins 4, 8, 11 and 13 suggest that kallikreins may benefit in determining tumor behavior of salivary gland tumors.