# List of histologic stains that aid in diagnosis of cutaneous conditions

A number of histologic stains are used in the field of dermatology that aid in the diagnosis of conditions of or affecting the human integumentary system.
Positive histologic stains that aid in the diagnosis of conditions of or affecting the human integumentary system :
| Stain | Cell, material, and/or structure(s) stained | Condition(s) in which stain is positive |
| Actin-specific enolase | | Infantile digital fibromatosis |
| AE1/AE3 | | Squamous cell carcinoma |
| Alcian blue | | Lipoid proteinosis Papular mucinosis Scleredema Pretibial myxedema Mucopolysaccharidoses |
| Alizarin red | | Calcinosis cutis |
| Azure A | Mast cell | Mastocytosis |
| Bcl-2 | | Basal cell carcinoma Primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma leg type |
| Bcl-6 | | Primary cutaneous follicular lymphoma |
| BerEp4 | | Desmoplastic trichoepithelioma Basal cell carcinoma |
| Brown–Brenn | | Eumycotic mycetoma |
| CAM 5.2 | | Merkel cell carcinoma |
| CCR7 | | Melanoma |
| Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) | Eccrine gland | Extramammary Paget's disease Microcystic adnexal carcinoma Eccrine poroma |
| CD1a | Langerhans cell | Langerhans cell histiocytosis Indeterminate cell histiocytosis |
| CD4 | | Mycosis fungoides Sézary syndrome |
| CD5 | | Chronic lymphocytic leukemia |
| CD8 | | Pagetoid reticulosis |
| CD10 | | Renal cell carcinoma |
| CD15 | | Hodgkin's disease |
| CD20 | | Primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma Primary cutaneous follicular lymphoma Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma leg type |
| CD30 (Ki-1) | | Lymphomatoid papulosis Primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma Eosinophilic ulcer of the oral mucosa Hodgkin's disease |
| CD31 | Endothelial cell | Kaposi's sarcoma Angiosarcoma Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma |
| CD34 | Dermal dendritic cell | Desmoplastic trichoepithelioma Spindle cell lipoma Angiosarcoma Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans Atypical fibroxanthoma Pleomorphic fibroma Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma |
| CD38 | Plasma cell | Multiple myeloma Plasmablastic lymphoma Pagetoid reticulosis |
| CD44 | | Merkel cell carcinoma |
| CD56 | | Extranodal natural killer cell lymphoma Merkel cell carcinoma |
| CD68 | | Benign cephalic histiocytosis Generalized eruptive histiocytosis Indeterminate cell histiocytosis Juvenile xanthogranuloma Necrobiotic xanthogranuloma Giant cell reticulohistiocytoma Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis Xanthoma disseminatum Rosai–Dorfman disease Atypical fibroxanthoma Melanoma |
| CD79a | | Primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma Primary cutaneous follicular lymphoma Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma leg type |
| CD117 | Mast cell | Mastocytosis |
| CD138 | Plasma cell | Multiple myeloma Plasmablastic lymphoma |
| CD207 (Langerin) | Langerhans cell | Langerhans cell histiocytosis |
| Chloracetate esterase (Leder) | Mast cell | Mastocytosis |
| Chromogranin A | | Merkel cell carcinoma |
| Cystokeratin 7 | | Paget's disease (breast and extramammary) |
| Cytokeratin 20 | | Extramammary Paget's disease of endodermal origin Merkel cell carcinoma |
| Colloidal iron | | Papular mucinosis Scleredema Pretibial myxedema |
| Congo red | | Amyloidosis Colloid milium |
| Crystal violet | | Amyloidosis Colloid milium |
| D2-40 | | Lymphangioma circumscriptum |
| de Galantha | | Pseudogout |
| Dylon | | Amyloidosis |
| Epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) | Eccrine gland Sebaceous gland | Paget's disease extramammary Paget's disease Microcystic adnexal carcinoma Sebaceous carcinoma Renal cell carcinoma Schwannoma |
| Factor VIII | | Dabska-type hemangioendothelioma Angiosarcoma |
| Factor XIII | | Cutaneous focal mucinosis |
| Factor XIIIa | Dermal dendritic cell | Dermatofibroma Epithelioid cell histiocytoma |
| Fite | | Leprosy Nocardiosis |
| Fontana–Masson | Cryptococcus neoformans | Cryptococcus |
| Giemsa | Mast cell | Mastocytosis Mucopolysaccharidoses |
| Gomori methenamine silver | Histoplasma capsulatum Blastomyces dermatitidis Coccidioides immitis Paracoccidioides brasiliensis | Histoplasmosis Blastomycosis Coccidioidomycosis Paracoccidioidomycosis |
| Gross cystic disease fluid protein 15 (GCDFP-15) | Apocrine gland | Extramammary Paget's disease of cutaneous origin |
| HAM56 | Histiocyte | Dermatofibroma |
| HMB45 | Gp100 (pmel17, silver protein) | Melanoma |
| India | Cryptococcus neoformans | Cryptococcus |
| KP-1 | Histiocyte | Dermatofibroma |
| LYVE-1 | | Kaposi's sarcoma |
| MAC387 | Histiocyte | |
| MART-1 (MART-1) | | Melanoma |
| Masson's trichrome | | Infantile digital fibromatosis |
| Mel-5 | TYRP1 | Melanoma |
| Methylene blue | Mast cell | Mastocytosis Ochronosis |
| MIB-1 | | Melanoma |
| Muscle-specific actin | | Glomus tumor Dermatofibroma Infantile myofibromatosis |
| Neurofilament | | Neurofibroma |
| Neuro-specific enolase | | Merkel cell carcinoma |
| Non-aqueous alcoholic eosin stain (NAES) | | Pseudogout |
| Oil red O | | Sebaceous carcinoma Angiokeratoma corporis diffusum Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn |
| Peanut agglutinin | | Basal cell carcinoma |
| Phosphotungsten acid-hematoxylin (PTAH) | | Infantile digital fibromatosis |
| Pogoda red | | Amyloidosis |
| Protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5) | | Nerve sheath myxoma |
| Silver nitrate | Urate crystal | Gout |
| Sirius red | | Amyloidosis |
| Smooth muscle actin (SMA) | | Angiomyxoma Leiomyosarcoma |
| SOX10 | Neuroectodermal neoplasms of neural crest origin, especially: Melanoma, although desmoplastic melanomas may be only focally positive. Nevus |
| Sudan IV | | Leprosy |
| Sudan black | | Sebaceous carcinoma |
| Synaptophysin | | Merkel cell carcinoma |
| S100 | Melanocyte Langerhans cell Schwann cell Chondrocyte Adipocyte Eccrine gland | Langerhans cell histiocytosis Indeterminate cell histiocytosis Schwannoma Neurofibroma Nerve sheath myxoma (Cellular neurothekeoma) Extraskeletal chondroma |
| Thioflavin T | | Amyloidosis Colloid milium |
| Toluidine blue | Mast cell | Mastocytosis Mucopolysaccharidoses Papular mucinosis Scleredema Pretibial myxedema |
| Tryptase | Mast cell | Mastocytosis |
| Tyrosinase | Tyrosinase | Melanoma |
| Ulex eropaeus agglutinin | | Dabska-type hemangioendothelioma |
| VEGF-3 | | Dabska-type hemangioendothelioma |
| VEGFR-3 | | Kaposi's sarcoma |
| Verhoeff van Gieson | Collagen Elastin | Elastosis perforans serpiginosa Acquired perforating dermatosis Perforating periumbilical calcific elastosis Pseudoxanthoma elasticum |
| Vimentin | Non-specific mesenchymal components | Melanoma Glomus tumor Dermatofibroma Pleomorphic fibroma of the skin Epithelioid cell histiocytoma |
| von Kossa | Calcium | Calcinosis cutis Pseudoxanthoma elasticum |
| Wade | | Leprosy |
| Wright | Blood cells | Transient neonatal pustular melanosis Erythema toxicum neonatorum> Granuloma inguinale |
| Ziehl–Neelsen stain | | Leprosy |

## Footnotes

* 1 2 The Ziehl-Neelsen stain is positive in leprosy but notable for being negative with nocardiosis. Fite stain is positive in leprosy and nocardiosis.
* ↑ Melanoma stains positive with HMB45 with the exception of desmoplastic melanoma.
* ↑ Staining of pustule contents in transient neonatal pustular melanosis will reveal numerous neutrophils
* ↑ Staining of pustule in erythema toxicum neonatorum will reveal numerous eosinophils