Actin‐binding protein fascin expression in skin neoplasia

Abstract

Fascin is expressed by skin tumors that locally infiltrate and replace surrounding tissues indicating a role for fascin in cell adhesion, cell motility and invasiveness. No or weak fascin expression is exhibited by cancers with pagetoid intraepidermal spread and by invasive tumors with a high risk of metastasis. Downregulation or loss of fascin's actin-bundling properties, probably associated with disorganization of cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts, may be a crucial step in the progression from locally invasive to widely disseminating cancers.