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V Häyry, Developmental Biology, Biomedicine, Helsinki, 00014 HY, Finland
K Salmenkivi, Pathology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
J Arola, Pathology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
H Paivi, Pathology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
C Haglund, Department of Surgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
H Sariola, Developmental Biology, Biomedicine, Helsinki, Finland

Correspondence: Valtteri Häyry, Email: valtteri.hayry{at}helsinki.fi

Abstract

Pheochromocytomas are uncommon tumours of adrenal or extra-adrenal chromaffin tissue. Two to 26 percent of these have been reported to metastasize, but on histological criteria it is virtually impossible to predict malignant behaviour of the tumour. Using immunohistochemistry, we analyzed the protein expression of SNAIL, a zinc-finger transcription factor, in a series of 50 pheochromocytoma specimens from 42 patients. We found that SNAIL expressing cells are frequent in metastatic primary tumours and their metastases, whereas in tumours without metastases, SNAIL expression is commonly absent. We conclude that the expression of SNAIL may be of use in predicting the metastatic potential of pheochromocytoma.