Contemporary diagnostics: sarcoma pathology update

Hemangiopericytoma: Incidence, Treatment, and Prognosis Analysis Based on SEER Database

Background

Hemangiopericytomas are rare tumors derived from pericytes surrounding the blood vessels. The clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of hemangiopericytoma patients remain mostly unknown. In this retrospective cohort study, we assessed the clinicopathological characteristics of hemangiopericytoma patients, as well as the clinical usefulness of different treatment modalities. Material and Methods. We collected the clinicopathological data (between 1975 and 2016) of hemangiopericytoma and hemangioendothelioma patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Incidence, treatment, and patient prognosis were assessed.

Results

Data from 1474 patients were analyzed in our study cohort (hemangiopericytoma: n = 1243; hemangioendothelioma: n = 231). The incidence of hemangiopericytoma in 2016 was 0.060 per 100,000 individuals. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) did not differ between patients with hemangioendothelioma and those with hemangiopericytoma (P = 0.721, P = 0.544). The tumor grade had no effect on the OS of hemangiopericytoma patients. Multivariate analysis revealed the clinical usefulness of surgery in hemangiopericytoma patients (HR = 0.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.05-0.41, P < 0.001). In contrast, radiotherapy did not improve OS (P = 0.497) or CSS (P = 0.584), and chemotherapy worsened patient survival (P < 0.001). Additionally, the combination of surgery and radiotherapy had a similar effect with surgery alone on hemangiopericytoma patient survival (OS: P = 0.900; CSS: P = 0.156). Surgery plus chemotherapy provided a worse clinical benefit than surgery alone (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our findings suggested that hemangiopericytoma had a similar prognosis with hemangioendothelioma. Surgery was the only effective treatment that provided survival benefits in hemangiopericytoma patients, while the clinical usefulness of adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was limited.

Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma of Liver: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS), previously known as malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH), is rarely reported in the liver as a primary site. We report a case of a previously healthy 56-year-old male, who presented with abdominal pain and jaundice. The patient was originally diagnosed with cholecystitis, treated with cholecystectomy, which was complicated by abdominal abscess. One week following discharge, the patient was readmitted with fever, chills, and leukocytosis. Computed tomography (CT) guided liver biopsies demonstrated an epithelioid to spindle cell neoplasm with markedly atypical nuclei and prominent necrosis infiltrating between hepatocytes. Immunohistochemical studies were negative for epithelial, melanocytic, and hematolymphoid differentiation. Positron emission tomography (PET) was performed, which showed a single markedly hypermetabolic central hepatic mass (14 x 8.5 x 8.5 cm) with likely central necrosis, consistent with primary malignancy. The patient was treated with one cycle of chemotherapy (doxorubicin and ifosfamide), refusing additional cycle due to medication side effects. The patient subsequently succumbed to complications associated with the malignancy and died within 19 days of diagnosis.

PD-L1 (CD274) copy number gain, expression, and immune cell infiltration as candidate predictors for response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in soft-tissue sarcoma

Soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare malignancies that account for 1% of adult cancers and comprise more than 50 entities. Current therapeutic options for advanced-stage STS are limited. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling axis are being explored as new treatment modality in STS; however, the determinants of response to these agents are largely unknown. Using the sarcoma data set of The Cancer Genome Altas (TCGA) and an independent cohort of untreated high-grade STS, we analyzed DNA copy number status and mRNA expression of PD-L1 in a total of 335 STS cases. Copy number gains (CNG) were detected in 54 TCGA cases (21.1%), of which 21 (8.2%) harbored focal PD-L1 CNG and that were most prevalent in myxofibrosarcoma (35%) and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (34%). In the untreated high-grade STS cohort, we detected CNG in six cases (7.6%). Analysis of co-amplified genes identified a 5.6-Mb core region comprising 27 genes, including JAK2. Patients with PD-L1 CNG had higher PD-L1 expression compared with STS without CNG (fold change, 1.8; p = 0.02), an effect that was most pronounced in the setting of focal PD-L1 CNG (fold change, 3.0; p = 0.0027). STS with PD-L1 CNG showed a significantly higher mutational load compared with tumors with a diploid PD-L1 locus (median number of mutated genes; 58 vs. 40; p = 3.6E-06), and PD-L1 CNG were associated with inferior survival (HR = 1.82; p = 0.025). In contrast, T-cell infiltrates quantified by mRNA expression of CD3Z were associated with improved survival (HR = 0.88; p = 0.024) and consequently influenced the prognostic power of PD-L1 CNG, with low CD3Z levels conferring poor survival in cases with PD-L1 CNG (HR = 1.8; p = 0.049). These data demonstrate that PD-L1 GNG and elevated expression of PD-L1 occur in a substantial proportion of STS, have prognostic impact that is modulated by T-cell infiltrates, and thus warrant investigation as response predictors for immune checkpoint inhibition.

The demographic features, clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment outcome and disease-specific prognostic factors of solitary fibrous tumor: a population-based analysis

Background

Solitary fibrous tumor's (SFT) demographic features, clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment outcome and disease-specific prognostic factors were unexplored comprehensively.

Methods

SEER program was used to identify patients diagnosed with SFT from 1973 to 2012. Overall collected data were analyzed by using the SPSS 18.0.

Results

In total, 804 cases were found including 613 cases with SFT-specific mortality and 801 patients were analyzed for overall survival (OS). The 3-year disease specific survival (DSS), 5-year DSS and 10-year DSS were 73.3%, 65.7% and 53.3%. The 3-year OS, 5-year OS and 10-year OS were 71.9%, 63.3% and 47.3%. In the multivariate survival analysis, the age > 51 years (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.851 for DSS, P = 0.024 and HR = 1.652 for OS, P = 0.033; Reference [Ref] ≤ 51 years for DSS and ≤ 53 years for OS), SEER stage metastasized tumor (HR = 4.269 for DSS, P = 0.000 and HR = 2.905 for OS, P = 0.028, Ref - localized + regional tumor), pathologic grade III + IV (HR = 2.734 for DSS, P = 0.001 and HR = 2.585 for OS, P = 0.000, Ref - grade I + II) were adversely associated with DSS and OS. In addition, surgery was favorably associated with DSS (HR = 0.217, P = 0.045, Ref - surgery + radiotherapy).

Conclusions

The surgery was an independent prognostic factor for DSS. The patient's age, SEER stage and pathologic grade were SFT-specific independent prognostic indicators for DSS and OS.

In Vivo Bioorthogonal Chemistry Enables Local Hydrogel and Systemic Pro-Drug To Treat Soft Tissue Sarcoma

The ability to activate drugs only at desired locations avoiding systemic immunosuppression and other dose limiting toxicities is highly desirable. Here we present a new approach, named local drug activation, that uses bioorthogonal chemistry to concentrate and activate systemic small molecules at a location of choice. This method is independent of endogenous cellular or environmental markers and only depends on the presence of a preimplanted biomaterial near a desired site (e.g., tumor). We demonstrate the clear therapeutic benefit with minimal side effects of this approach in mice over systemic therapy using a doxorubicin pro-drug against xenograft tumors of a type of soft tissue sarcoma (HT1080).

Gross examination and reporting of soft tissue tumours: evaluation of compliance with the UK Royal College of Pathologists soft tissue sarcoma dataset

Aims

Soft tissue tumours are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms that can arise at almost every anatomical site. As they often show similar clinical and radiological findings, histology is the definitive diagnostic method and it is crucial that the surgical pathology report contains accurate, useful information for management and prognostication. The soft tissue sarcoma minimum dataset produced by the Royal College of Pathologists in the UK outlines a structure for handling and reporting soft tissue tumours, including the core data required, and aiding pathologists in forming a consistent reporting approach.

Methods

We assessed the information in surgical pathology reports for soft tissue lesions at a tertiary soft tissue centre, in 1 year prior to the development of this dataset, and 1 year after its release, to audit the comparative adequacy of macroscopic and microscopic information provided, and to assess for differences in reporting since the advent of routine ancillary molecular diagnostic testing.

Results and conclusions

We found that while essential information was always included in reports, more specific details contributing to better quality reports such as more detailed macroscopic descriptions and a higher proportion of clinical summaries with radiological correlation were included in 2011 than 2006, despite increasing workload. Specimen handling, particularly of core biopsies, was also improved, reflecting the increasing need to conserve the maximum amount of patient material for molecular investigations.

Myxoinflammatory Fibroblastic Sarcoma: A Radiographical, Pathological, and Immunohistochemical Report of Rare Malignancy

Myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma (MIFS) is a rare, painless, and intermediate (rarely metastasizing) fibroblastic tumor, which commonly occurs in the extremities, with an equal sex predilection. This sarcoma is composed of a mixed inflammatory infiltrate along with spindled, epithelioid, and bizarre tumor cells in a background of hyaline and myxoid areas. In spite of such a distinctive morphology, the tumor can be a diagnostic challenge, simulating inflammatory conditions as well as neoplastic nature. For accurate diagnosis, the tumor requires extensive clinical, radiological, and pathological investigations. We present a case of MIFS in a 19-year-old female who presented with a mass in the left ankle. After appropriate excision and postoperative radiation therapy, she is free of disease, including recurrence and metastasis, at 12 years postoperatively.