Expression Patterns of Gli-1, Pleckstrin Homology-Like Domain, Family A, Member 1, Transforming Growth Factor-β1/β2, and p63 in Sebaceous and Follicular Tumors

The study investigated the expression of Gli-1, PHLDA-1, TGF-β1/β2, and p63 in 34 cases of benign and malignant sebaceous (18 cases) and follicular tumors (16 cases) using immunohistochemistry. It found that Gli-1 expression decreased with sebaceous tumor cell differentiation, PHLDA-1 was expressed in the outer root sheath of hair follicles and some follicular tumor cells, TGF-β1 was exclusively expressed in the nuclei of benign and malignant follicular tumors but not in sebaceous tumors, and p63 expression was observed in the nuclei of basaloid cells and poorly differentiated sebaceous carcinoma cells. The study concluded that p63 and TGF-β1 could be useful markers for predicting the degree of differentiation and malignant potential of these tumors and for distinguishing between trichilemmal carcinoma and sebaceous carcinoma. However, the study's small sample size and lack of quantitative analysis were limitations, and further research with larger samples was recommended.