Immunohistochemical Expression of Cytokeratin 15, Cytokeratin 19, Follistatin, and Bmi-1 in Basal Cell Carcinoma

The study evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of CK15, CK19, follistatin, and Bmi-1 in 20 cases of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), 13 cases of trichoblastoma, 21 cases of actinic keratosis (AK), and 19 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Results showed that CK15, follistatin, and Bmi-1 had significantly higher labeling indexes in BCC and trichoblastoma compared to AK and SCC, suggesting that BCC and trichoblastoma share differentiation towards the hair follicle. CK15, follistatin, and Bmi-1 were proposed as useful markers to differentiate BCC from SCC.