Vimentin

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

Vimentin - Renal Oncocytoma — Vimentin highlighting vessels around nest of tumor cells in a renal oncocytoma.

Vimentin - Renal Cell Carcinoma — Vimentin expression in renal cell carcinoma

Renal Cell Carcinoma - Vimentin — Vimentin expression in a recurrent renal cell carcinoma

Vimentin - Colon Adenocarcinoma — Vimentin expression expressed in stromal tissue surrounding colon adenocarcinoma epithelium.

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