Human pathology
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Case Reports
Conventional spindle cell-type malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor arising in a sporadic schwannoma.
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor is a malignant tumor showing nerve sheath differentiation. Approximately one-half of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors arise from a benign peripheral nerve sheath tumor, which is commonly a neurofibroma in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor arising in a sporadic schwannoma of soft tissue is extremely rare. ⋯ The malignant component showed hypercellular spindle cell proliferation with high mitotic activities; in contrast, the benign component showed hypocellular spindle cell proliferation in a palisading pattern and with Verocay bodies. Immunohistochemical S-100 protein staining showed a clear contrast between the malignant (negative) and benign (positive) components, which was useful for differentiating cellular schwannoma. Recognizing this rare condition is helpful in the pathologic diagnosis of schwannoma showing cellular proliferation in part.
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BRAF mutation is seen in a variety of human neoplasms including cutaneous malignant melanoma, papillary thyroid carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma, and others. Currently, there are 2 commercially available monoclonal antibodies for the detection of BRAF V600E mutation; however, a full and practical comparison of their performance in various tumor types on an automated staining platform has not been done. We investigated their sensitivity and specificity in detecting the BRAF V600E mutation in a series of 152 tumors including 31 malignant melanomas, 25 lung carcinomas, 32 gastrointestinal carcinomas, 23 thyroid carcinomas, 35 gliomas, and 6 other malignancies. ⋯ The sensitivity and specificity were 98% (60/61) and 97% (88/91) for monoclonal VE1 and 95% (58/61) and 83% (73/88) for anti-B-Raf, respectively. There were 4 cases with discordant IHC and mutational results for monoclonal VE1 in contrast to 18 cases for anti-B-Raf. Our studies showed that IHC with monoclonal VE1 has a better performance compared with anti-B-Raf in an automated staining platform and confirmed that clone VE1 provides excellent sensitivity and specificity for detecting the BRAF V600E mutation in a variety of tumor types in a clinical setting.
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Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) (Wegener's) may mimic IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) on histologic examination of some biopsies, especially those from head and neck sites. IgG4 immunostaining is often performed in this context for differential diagnosis with IgG4-RD. Herein, we report the results of IgG4-positive (IgG4+) cells in 43 cases of GPA including 26 previously published cases as well as the newly added cases from the lung and kidney. ⋯ In conclusion, increased IgG4+ cells can be seen in sinonasal or orbital/periorbital biopsies of GPA, which could pose as a pitfall in the diagnosis of IgG4-RD. However, GPA in other organs and controls did not show increased IgG4+ cells when using the above threshold. The biologic or clinical importance of increased IgG4+ cells in GPA cases involving head and neck region is uncertain, and a further study might be warranted to address the potential pathogenic relationship between IgG4-RD and GPA in those cases.
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Triple-negative breast cancer comprises 10% to 15% of newly diagnosed breast cancer and lacks expression of the estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/neu receptors. Many such tumors are basal like, a molecular intrinsic subtype of breast cancer associated with poor clinical outcomes. Patients with early-stage basal-like triple-negative breast cancer are at a high risk for relapse and may, therefore, benefit from novel therapies, including immunotherapy. ⋯ Cases were evenly distributed over this range, where most (67%) exhibited moderate to strong MUC1 expression (score, 0.5-1.90), 27% demonstrated weak MUC1 expression, and 6% lacked MUC1 expression. There was a significant difference in MUC1 score and percent MUC1+ cells in favor of the combination pattern. This study indicates that a large proportion of early-stage basal-like triple-negative breast cancer expresses MUC1 and provides a rationale for MUC1-based immunotherapy in this high-risk patient cohort.
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The histopathologic features of pulmonary graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) status post-bone marrow transplant are not well described. Lung biopsies from patients with clinically suspected GVHD were studied. There were 17 biopsies from 9 men and 5 women. ⋯ Obstructive lung disease with obliterative bronchiolitis developed in 3 patients, all of whom stabilized with treatment and were alive at last follow-up (mean, 25 months). All 3 histologic patterns of pulmonary GVHD are characterized by intrabronchiolar T cells, apoptosis, and perivenulitis, which help to distinguish GVHD from infections. The acute lung injury pattern has a poor prognosis, and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome develops in a subset of patients with CIP histologic pattern.