Does -catenin have a role in pathogenesis of sebaceous cell carcinoma of the eyelid?

AIM: Expression of β-catenin in sebaceous cell carcinoma (SbCC) of the eyelid and its correlation with histopathological features. METHOD: 48 cases of SbCC were analysed immunohistochemically using monoclonal β-catenin antibody and the results correlated with tumour size, histopathological differentiation, orbital invasion and pagetoid spread. RESULTS: Cytoplasmic overexpression of β-catenin was seen in 66% cases of SbCC which correlated positively with tumour size, orbital invasion and pagetoid spread. This correlation was found to be significant in tumour size > 2 cm (p = 0.242). Nuclear staining was not observed in any of the cases. CONCLUSION: Cytoplasmic overexpression of β-catenin was observed in the majority of the cases of SbCC of eyelid, and this correlated significantly with tumour size. The authors therefore hypothesise that β-catenin overexpression in SbCC of eyelid may be a result of Wnt/β-catenin pathway dysregulation. However, its role both in the development of sebaceous cell carcinoma of the eyelid as well as its prognosis needs to be explored further.