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Table of Contents
Definition / general | Interpretation | Uses by pathologists | Microscopic (histologic) images | Positive staining - normal | Positive staining - disease | Negative stainingCite this page: Pernick N. Calretinin. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/stainscalretinin.html. Accessed March 20th, 2019.
Definition / general
- Calcium binding protein structurally related to S100 and inhibin
Interpretation
- Nuclear and cytoplasmic staining
Uses by pathologists
- Differentiate (as part of a panel) epithelioid pleural mesothelioma (positive) from lung adenocarcinoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2003;27:1031)
- Differentiate (as part of a panel) epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma (positive) from ovarian serous papillary carcinoma (usually negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2007;31:1139)
- Differentiate reactive mesothelial cells (positive) from carcinomas (negative) in effusion cytology (Am J Clin Pathol 2001;116:709, Cytopathology 2008;19:218), ascites fluid / peritoneal lavage (Tohoku J Exp Med 2005;206:31) or pleural biopsies (Am J Surg Pathol 2007;31:914)
- Differentiate (as part of a panel) mesothelioma (positive) from metastatic renal cell carcinoma (negative, Histopathology 2002;41:301)
- Differentiate (as part of a panel) adrenal cortical lesions (calretinin+) from metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2011;35:678)
- Differentiate (as part of a panel) adrenal cortical lesions (calretinin+) from pheochromocytoma (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2010;34:423)
- Differentiate (as part of a panel) ovarian Sertoli-Leydig tumors (positive) from sertoliform endometroid carcinoma (negative, Arch Pathol Lab Med 2007;131:979)
- Differentiate schwannoma (strong staining) from neurofibroma (negative or weak / focal staining, Am J Clin Pathol 2004;122:552)
- Differentiate olfactory neuroblastoma (calretinin+, p63-) from other sinonasal small round blue cell tumors (calretinin-, p63+, Am J Surg Pathol 2011;35:1786)
- Differentiate ameloblastoma (calretinin+) from keratocystic odontogenic tumor (negative, Am J Surg Pathol 2008;32:256)
- Diagnosis of Hirschsprung disease (negative staining, Mod Pathol 2009;22:1379)
- Identify peritoneal invasive implants of serous borderline tumors of the ovary by lack of calretinin+ mesothelial cells (Mod Pathol 2006;19:364)
- Marker for normal functional endometrial stromal cells (Pathol Res Pract 2007;203:79)
Microscopic (histologic) images
Contributed by Dr. Sharon Bihlmeyer
Ovarian granulosa cell tumor (adult)
Images hosted on other servers:
Mesothelioma: clear cell variant (pleura)
Mesothelioma-deciduoid variant: fig 6
Mesothelioma-sarcomatoid
Mesothelioma: various images
Adenomatoid tumor
Adrenal gland corticomedullary mixed tumor (fig C/D)
Colonic medullary carcinoma (fig E)
Granular cell tumor
Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenoma (fig 7)
Serous effusions
Positive staining - normal
- Adipocytes (Hum Pathol 2006;37:312), endometrial stromal cells, Leydig cells of testis
- Mast cells, mesothelial cells, nerves (good positive control, Nordic)
- Ovarian theca-lutein and theca interna cells, Sertoli cells (Hum Pathol 2003;34:994)
Positive staining - disease
- Mesothelial hyperplasia and cysts
- Mesothelioma (strong diffuse staining in almost all epithelioid and lymphohistiocytic subtypes, 57% of sarcomatoid subtypes, (Am J Surg Pathol 2007;31:711, Mod Pathol 2007;20:248)
- Also ameloblastoma (stellate reticulum-like epithelium, Histopathology 2000;37:27), adenomatoid tumors (Am J Surg Pathol 2003;27:969), adrenal cortical tumors (96%, Mod Pathol 2003;16:591)
- Cardiac myxoma (Am J Clin Pathol 2000;114:754), cervical mesonephric adenocarcinoma (88%, Am J Surg Pathol 2001;25:379), colonic medullary carcinoma (73%, Hum Pathol 2009;40:398), colorectal adenocarcinoma (various by tumor differentiation, Am J Surg Pathol 1999;23:701)
- Desmoplastic small round cell tumors (20%, Mod Pathol 2003;16:229), FATWO (Hum Pathol 1999;30:856), granular cell tumor (Am J Clin Pathol 2003;119:259)
- Lipoma and liposarcoma (Hum Pathol 2006;37:312), lung carcinoma (adenocarcinoma-11%, giant cell carcinoma-67%, large cell-38%, small cell-49%, Am J Surg Pathol 2003;27:150)
- Schwannoma (Am J Clin Pathol 2004;122:552), sex cord stromal tumors (50-100%, including inhibin negative tumors, Am J Surg Pathol 2005;29:143, Am J Surg Pathol 2009;33:354)
- Synovial sarcoma (most, Am J Surg Pathol 2001;25:610), thymic carcinoma and thymoma (some, Hum Pathol 2003;32:1155)
Negative staining
- Adrenal medullary tumors including pheochromocytoma, mucinous cysts (Histopathology 2002;41:301), ovarian microcystic stromal tumor (Am J Surg Pathol 2009;33:367), renal cell carcinoma (usually)
