ALK protein expression in rhabdomyosarcomas

AIMS: The ALK p80 chimeric protein is thought to be up-regulated as a result of the t(2;5) as classically seen in anaplastic large cell lymphoma. However, rhabdomyosarcomas (in particular, the alveolar subtype) have also been noted to show expression of this protein. This study set out to examine ALK expression in a large number of rhabdomyosarcomas. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eighty-three cases of rhabdomyosarcomas and 16 cases of malignant mixed müllerian tumours with a rhabdomyosarcomatous component were retrieved from the archives of the Department of Anatomical Pathology for the period 1983-2001. The sections were stained with polyclonal ALK antibody. There were 52 male and 30 female patients. In one case, the gender of the patient was not indicated. The ages ranged from 1 week to 77 years. The most common site was the head and neck region, followed by the pelvis and extremities. Thirty-one cases were of the alveolar subtype while 40 cases were embryonal. There were four mixed embryonal/alveolar, six pleomorphic and two unclassifiable rhabdomyosarcomas. Fourteen of the 31 (45%) alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas stained positively for the ALK protein, while only six of the 40 embryonal (15%) cases showed positivity. One case each of the mixed embryonal/alveolar, pleomorphic and unclassified cases was also immunopositive. The rhabdomyosarcomatous component in the malignant mixed müllerian tumours was positive in four of the 16 cases. CONCLUSION: We conclude that a proportion of alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas (in particular) exhibit ALK protein expression. However, ALK expression is not restricted to this subtype. An extension of this study is to determine if this over-expression is as a result of the t(2;5) translocation.     

ALK gene rearranged lung adenocarcinomas: molecular genetics and morphology in cohort of patients from North India

ALK gene rearrangement in the lung adenocarcinomas is the second most common (1.6–11.7% of NSCLC) targetable genomic change after EGFR mutations. However, the prevalence and clinicopathological features of ALK‐rearranged lung adenocarcinomas from North India are lacking. A total of 240 cases of lung adenocarcinoma were screened for EGFR mutations and for ALK expression. Smoking status, TNM stage, and treatment response were recorded in all cases. Out of 240 cases screened, 37 cases were positive for EGFR mutations and 17 cases (7.08%) showed ALK positivity with immunohistochemistry and break‐apart FISH. On excluding 37 EGFR mutation–positive cases, the incidence of ALK‐positive adenocarcinoma appears to be higher (17/203 cases, 8.03%). Eight were men and nine were women with mean age of 51.7 years. Majority (62.5%) were non‐smokers and had unresectable disease (70.6% stage IV, 17.6% IIIB). The morphological patterns noted were solid (12 cases), papillary (four cases), and micropapillary (one case). Signet ring (two cases) and clear cell change (one cases) were noted. Out of five patients who received crizotinib, three had partial response and two had stable disease. ALK‐rearranged lung adenocarcinomas account for a minor proportion of NSCLC with prevalence similar to that reported in literature. However, as contrast to published data in our series, patients were in older age group and had solid and papillary pattern on morphology with an aggressive course.     

CK7、CK20联合肠道源性标志物检测在肺肠型腺癌和转移性结直肠腺癌鉴别诊断中的价值

目的检测肺肠型腺癌(pulmonary enteric adenocarcinoma, PEAC)和肺转移性结直肠腺癌(pulmonary metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma, PMCA)中CK7、CK20和肠道源性标志物(CDX2、SATB2、CDH17、β-catenin)的表达,探讨其在两者鉴别诊断中的价值。方法应用免疫组化EnVision法检测11例PEAC和22例PMCA中CK7、CK20、CDX2、SATB2、CDH17和β-catenin的表达,分析其在两者鉴别诊断中的敏感性、特异性、阳性预测值和阴性预测值。结果 CK7在PEAC中的表达高于PMCA,CK20、CDX2、SATB2、CDH17和β-catenin在PMCA中的表达均明显高于PEAC,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。SATB2和β-catenin的表达对PEAC与PMCA的鉴别诊断,具有较高的特异性和阳性预测值(100%)。CK7^-/CK20⁺联合肠道源性标志物对PEAC和PMCA的鉴别诊断,均有较高的特异性和阳性预测...     

Case reports of primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma with pleural spread: So‐called pseudomesotheliomatous adenocarcinoma

We report two autopsy cases of primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma associated with unusual pleural spread. Both patients had confirmed history of asbestos exposure. In the first patient the tumor was localized in one pulmonary lobe with marked infiltration into pleura, chest wall and diaphragm. In the second patient the entire right lung was covered by irregularly thickened tumor. Both tumors were mainly located in the extrapulmonary area and the intrapulmonary portions represented only minor components. Histologically, tumor cells demonstrated glandular and papillary growth patterns associated with focal hobnail‐like features. Immunohistochemical evaluation revealed diffuse and marked immunoreactivity of TTF‐1, CEA, CD15 and MOC31 in both cases, while calretinin, CK5/6, vimentin, thrombomodulin and HBME‐1 were broadly positive in one case. D2‐40 was not detected in either case. Examination using electron microscopy revealed the presence of sparse and short microvilli in tumor cells. All of the above findings are consistent with adenocarcinoma of the lung. Primary adenocarcinoma with a characteristic pleural extention grossly resembling malignant mesothelioma has been previously reported in the literature as pseudomesotheliomatous adenocarcinoma. This is the first report of pseudomesotheliomatous adenocarcinoma displaying variable immunoprofile with a diagnosis using electron microscopical examination. Additionally, we performed quantitative analysis of asbestos bodies in pseudomesotheliomatous adenocarcinoma.     

Lung adenocarcinoma with concurrent ALK and ROS1 rearrangement: A case report and review of the literatures

ALK and ROS1 are prognostic and predictive tumor markers in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), which are more often found in lung adenocarcinomas as with other oncogenes such as EGFR, KRAS, or C-MET. Their positivity is 2.6% and 1.3%, respectively, and patients who have mutations in both genes are extremely rare. Here, we report a 61-year-old male diagnosed with acinar adenocarcinoma, who was shown to have both ALK and ROS1 rearrangements but was EGFR- and C-MET mutation-negative. He was treated surgically and received targeted therapy. Our review of the literature revealed that few such cases of concurrent ALK and ROS1 rearrangements have been reported. This information furthers our understanding of the molecular biology underlying NSCLC which will aid the selection of optimal treatment for patients with more than one driver mutation.     

免疫组化染色及FISH法检测肺鳞状细胞癌中ALK蛋白的表达

目的：探讨棘皮类微管蛋白4(echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4, EML4)与间变性淋巴瘤激酶基因(ana-plastic lymphoma kinase, ALK)融合在肺鳞状细胞癌中的发生率,为进一步开展靶向治疗提供参考。方法采用高度特异性和敏感性的ALK抗体(D5F3)对219例肺鳞状细胞癌石蜡包埋组织标本进行免疫组化染色,并对阳性标本行EML4-ALK荧光原位杂交技术(fluorescence in situ hybridization, FISH)检测。结果免疫组化染色检出ALK强阳性标本4例(1．8%,4/219)、中等强度3例和弱阳性6例。 FISH检测确认ALK强阳性标本存在EML4-ALK基因融合,中等和弱阳性标本为假阳性。结论肺鳞状细胞癌中存在少量EML4-ALK基因融合,其是否对Crizotinib治疗敏感亟需进行临床研究;免疫组化检测ALK蛋白强阳性才能判断为EML4-ALK基因融合。     

HBsAg阳性肝癌患者预后及病理因素与ALK基因表达的相关性研究

 目的:检测ALK基因在HBsAg阳性肝细胞癌患者中的表达,并分析其与临床特征及预后的相关性。方法:收集我院2005~2010年261例术后经病理确诊的HBsAg阳性肝癌患者肿瘤组织及癌旁组织标本,采用免疫组织化学法和FISH法对标本石蜡切片进行分析,检测ALK表达情况,并探讨其对HBsAg阳性肝癌患者临床病理因素和预后的影响。结果:在肿瘤组织中,免疫组织化学法和FISH法分别检测到ALK阳性表达率为44.8%和32.6%。免疫组化结果进一步显示ALK蛋白表达与患者性别、肿瘤数目和微转移密切相关(P<0.05),而与患者的年龄、AFP水平、肿瘤大小、临床分期等无关;ALK阳性患者总生存期和无进展生存期均明显低于阴性患者(P<0.01);多因素分析显示,ALK表达和微转移是对患者无进展生存期具有统计学显著性的预后因素。结论:ALK在HBsAg阳性肝癌组织表达状态与肝癌的生长和转移关系密切,可以作为反映肝癌生物学行为和判断预后的有效指标。     

TTF-1、SP-A在肺腺癌诊断及鉴别诊断中的价值

目的 评价甲状腺转录因子-1(TTF-1)、肺泡表面活性蛋白A (SP-A)在肺腺癌中表达的敏感性和特异性,探讨他们在肺腺癌诊断及鉴别诊断中的价值.方法 选择经组织学和临床资料证实的肺原发性腺癌40例、转移性腺癌13例,采用免疫组化EnVision法检测TTF-1及SP-A的表达情况.结果 40例肺腺癌中有32例表达TTF-1、27例表达SP-A;13例转移性腺癌中只有1例肝细胞癌胞质表达TTF-1、无SP-A表达.TTF-1和SP-A在肺腺癌中表达的敏感性分别为80%和67.5%、特异性均为100%.结论TTF-1在肺腺癌中表达有较高的敏感性和特异性,在排除甲状腺癌可能后,可作为鉴别肺原发性和转移性腺癌的可靠标记;而SP-A敏感性较低且随分化程度降低表达下降,故TTF-1对肺腺癌鉴别诊断的价值优于SP-A.     

Immunohistochemical expression of thymidylate synthase as predictor of response to capecitabine in patients with advanced colorectal adenocarcinoma

Capecitabine is an oral prodrug to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The primary target of 5-FU is thymidylate synthase (TS). A mainstay of colorectal adenocarcinoma chemotherapy is inhibition of TS, which may be one of many determinant factors when predicting the outcome of chemotherapies based on fluoropyrimidine treatment. This retrospective study included 39 patients with advanced colorectal adenocarcinoma treated with capecitabine. Response was assessed by measuring the amount of tumour in the course of treatment. TS expression was evaluated by scoring the immunohistochemical (IHC) reaction and assessing the predominant IHC reaction pattern. This study showed significant correlation between the predominant IHC reaction pattern and response, but no correlation between IHC score and response. The predominant IHC reaction pattern may be a useful parameter in prediction of clinical outcome in patients treated with capecitabine.     

Increased cytoplasmic S100A6 expression is associated with pulmonary adenocarcinoma progression

S100A6 is a calcium-binding protein implicated in many cellular processes and frequently upregulated in cancer. Recently it was reported that S100A6 is one of the genes having higher expression in adenocarcinoma mixed subtype with a bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) component than in pure BAC. To clarify the association of S100A6 expression with stepwise progression of lung adenocarcinoma, S100A6 protein expression was examined on immunohistochemistry in 92 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded lung adenocarcinomas. Both the nucleus and cytoplasm of the tumor cells were stained, and the nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of S100A6 was assessed individually. In addition, six frozen surgical specimens were selected, and the expression of S100A6 was confirmed on western blotting. As a result, although it was not possible to detect any significant correlation between nuclear S100A6 immunoreactivity and tumor progression, advanced adenocarcinoma had significantly higher cytoplasmic S100A6 expression than non-invasive lesions or normal lung tissue ( P < 0.05). Moreover, the BAC component tended to have weaker staining than any of the other components. These findings indicate that S100A6 may be associated with the stepwise progression and/or invasion of lung adenocarcinoma, especially BAC-type adenocarcinoma. The present results suggest the utility of S100A6 immunohistochemistry as a marker for estimation of malignancy in adenocarcinoma with a BAC component.     

Low expression of nucleus accumbens‐associated protein 1 predicts poor prognosis for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Nucleus accumbens‐associated protein 1 (NAC1) is overexpressed in various carcinomas including ovarian, cervical, breast, and pancreatic carcinomas. High expression of NAC1 is considered to have adverse effects on prognosis through negative regulation of growth arrest and DNA‐damage–inducible 45‐γ interacting protein 1 (GADD45GIP1) in ovarian and cervical carcinomas. In the present study, the expression of NAC1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) was measured using immunohistochemistry and computer‐assisted image analysis in order to investigate its correlation with various clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. Patients with low‐NAC1 PDA had worse overall survival (P = 0.0010) and a shorter disease‐free survival (P = 0.0036) than patients with high‐NAC1 PDA. This was a clinical effect opposite to that reported in ovarian and cervical carcinomas. Furthermore, knockdown of NAC1 in pancreatic carcinoma cell lines did not increase expression of the GADD45GIP1 protein. These results indicate that the gene(s) regulated by NAC1 vary depending on the types of carcinoma or originating tissue, and that low expression of NAC1 predicts poor prognosis for patients with PDA.