Abstract

The term cytokeratin was first used in late 1970s by Franke et al. They can be defined as proteins of keratin containing intermediate filaments found in the intracytoplasmic cytoskeleton of epithelial tissue. Within epithelial cells CK filament functions as components of the cytoskeleton and cell contacts. They have been widely used for the detection of different malignant and premalignant disorders. Over 32000 published articles exist in the biomedical research literature that used the term cytokeratin. The aim of this article to review the uses and method of detection of cytokeratins in diagnosis.