Which marker is included in the IHC panel for primary ovarian germ cell tumors?

• A. SALL4
• B. PTH
• C. Chromogranin
• D. CD10

Answer: (A)

In this context, immunohistochemistry uses markers that indicate germ cell origin to identify ovarian tumors. SALL4 is a nuclear transcription factor expressed in embryonic stem cells and is consistently positive across most ovarian germ cell tumors, including yolk sac tumors and dysgerminomas. This broad, reliable expression makes it a key marker in the IHC panel to confirm germ cell lineage, especially when the tumor’s morphology is ambiguous or overlaps with other ovarian neoplasms. The other options don’t serve this purpose: PTH is an endocrine marker unrelated to germ cell tumors, Chromogranin marks neuroendocrine differentiation, and CD10 is expressed in a variety of non-germ cell tumors. So, SALL4 best identifies germ cell origin in these ovarian tumors.