Stains & molecular markers
HE4
Copyright: 2002-2021, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: HE4 stain
HE4
Author: Nat Pernick, M.D.
Topic Completed: 1 July 2009
Minor changes: 16 December 2020
Copyright: 2002-2021, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: HE4 stain
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Uses by pathologists | Microscopic (histologic) images | Positive staining - normal | Positive staining - disease | Negative stainingCite this page: Hamilton K, Pernick N. HE4. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/stainsHE4.html. Accessed January 17th, 2021.
Definition / general
- Antibody against Human Epididymis protein 4, a protease inhibitor
- Also called WAP5 and WFDC2 (WAP four-disulfide core domain 2)
Uses by pathologists
- Ovarian serum tumor marker (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18:1365, Br J Cancer 2009;100:1315)
- May be useful for screening in combination with CA-125 (Gynecol Oncol 2009;112:40)
- Greater specificity than CA-125 for diagnosing early ovarian cancer (eMedicine: Gynecologic Tumor Markers Tumor Marker Overview [Accessed 2 August 2018])
Microscopic (histologic) images
Images hosted on other servers:
Respiratory tract and salivary glands
Cystic fibrosis of lung
Major and minor glands (Fig B, E)
Pulmonary neoplasms
Ovarian carcinoma - various subtypes
Positive staining - normal
- Breast (female)
- Colonic mucosa
- Epididymis (Biol Reprod 1991;45:350) and vas deferens
- Female genital tract (endocervix, endometrium, fallopian tube, ovary)
- Renal tubules
- Respiratory epithelium
- Salivary glands
Positive staining - disease
- Ovarian carcinoma (Cancer Res 2003;63:3695), particularly serous and endometrioid (Cancer Res 2005;65:2162)
- Breast, endometrial, GI and pancreatic carcinoma (some, Mod Pathol 2006;19:847)
- Lung adenocarcinoma (some)
- Mesothelioma (some)
- Cystic fibrosis of lung (Respir Res 2006;7:61)
Negative staining
- Most nonovarian carcinomas
