EMA (E29)

Anti-EMA antibody is a useful marker for staining many carcinomas. It stains normal and neoplastic cells from various tissues, including mammary epithelium, sweat glands and squamous epithelium. Hepatocellular carcinoma, adrenal carcinoma and embryonal carcinomas are consistently EMA negative, so keratin positivity with negative EMA favors one of these tumors. EMA is frequently positive in meningioma, which can be useful when distinguishing it from other intracranial neoplasms, e.g. Schwannomas. The absence of EMA can also be of value since negative EMA staining is characteristic of some tumors including adrenal carcinoma, seminomas, paraganglioma and hepatoma.