Vimentin is an intermediate filament found in mesenchymal tissue. It is not a specific stain and there is a subset of tumors which characteristically have co-expression of cytokeratin and vimentin. It should also be noted that poorly differentiated carcinomas of any origin may express vimentin.
Some pathologists joke they use vimentin to see if IHC stains will even work in a particular piece of tissue, but vimentin can be very helpful especially when used in conjunction with a panel of stains.
Carcinomas with co-expression of vimentin
- Renal Cell Carcinoma
- Thyroid Carcinoma (Papillary & Anaplastic)
- Endometrial Adenocarcinoma
- Sarcomatoid Carcinoma
- Mesothelioma (biphasic)
- Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma
- Myoepithelial Carcinoma
Sarcomas with co-expression of cytokeratin
- Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor
- Epithelioid Sarcoma
- Epithelioid Angiosarcoma
- Malignant Rhabdoid Tumor
- Synovial Sarcoma
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Chordoma
- Adamantinoma
Photomicrographs
References
Kandukuri SR, Lin F, Gui L, Gong Y, Fan F, Chen L, et al. Application of Immunohistochemistry in Undifferentiated Neoplasms: A Practical Approach. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2017;141: 1014–1032. doi:10.5858/arpa.2016-0518-RA