Immunohistochemical Expression of L1CAM in Breast Carcinoma: A Clinicopathological Study

Document Type : Original Article

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Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

10.21608/jcbr.2025.376670.1399

Abstract

Background: Breast carcinoma is a multifactorial disease showing definite molecular subtypes, with specific clinical, pathological, and molecular characteristics. The L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM), one of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecules, is overexpressed in many carcinomas. Although much research has shown that carcinomas expressing L1CAM have a bad prognosis, the contribution of L1CAM to breast carcinoma has not been completely established. Aim: The present study aimed to investigate L1CAM expression in breast carcinoma and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters. Material and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 100 cases of invasive breast carcinoma retrieved from the archives of the Pathology Laboratory at Mansoura University Oncology Center between 2013 and 2018. Patients’ clinical and pathological data were revised. Immunohistochemical staining for L1CAM was performed, and clinicopathological correlation was statistically analyzed. Results: L1CAM expression was negative in 10%, weakly positive in 16%, moderately positive in 41%, and strongly positive in 33% of the studied cases. There was no statistically significant relation between L1CAM expression and age, morphological type, tumor grade, tumor size, lymph node status, stage, recurrence, ER, PR, or HER2/neu. However, we found statistically significant relations between strong L1CAM expression and luminal A subtype, as well as between moderate L1CAM expression and luminal B subtype. In contrast, no statistically significant relation was found between L1CAM expression and either HER2-enriched or triple-negative subtypes. Conclusion: Our results of L1CAM expression in breast carcinoma call for further attention to its role and prognostic significance in breast cancer.

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