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Kos Z, Nielsen TO, Laenkholm AV. Breast Cancer Histopathology in the Age of Molecular Oncology. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2024; 14:a041647. [PMID: 38151327 PMCID: PMC11146312 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
For more than a century, microscopic histology has been the cornerstone for cancer diagnosis, and breast carcinoma is no exception. In recent years, clinical biomarkers, gene expression profiles, and other molecular tests have shown increasing utility for identifying the key biological features that guide prognosis and treatment of breast cancer. Indeed, the most common histologic pattern-invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type-provides relatively little guidance to management beyond triggering grading, biomarker testing, and clinical staging. However, many less common histologic patterns can be recognized by trained pathologists, which in many cases can be linked to characteristic biomarker and gene expression patterns, underlying mutations, prognosis, and therapy. Herein we describe more than a dozen such histomorphologic subtypes (including lobular, metaplastic, salivary analog, and several good prognosis special types of breast cancer) in the context of their molecular and clinical features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Kos
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
- BC Cancer Vancouver Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4E6, Canada
| | - Torsten O Nielsen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Molecular and Advanced Pathology Core, Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 3Z6, Canada
| | - Anne-Vibeke Laenkholm
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Zealand University Hospital, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
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2
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Chang WC, Zhang YZ, Nicholson AG. Pulmonary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma. Histopathology 2024; 84:18-31. [PMID: 37867404 DOI: 10.1111/his.15064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (IMA) is a relatively rare subtype of lung adenocarcinoma, composed of goblet and/or columnar tumour cells containing abundant intracytoplasmic mucin vacuoles. While a majority of IMAs are driven by KRAS mutations, recent studies have identified distinct genomic alterations, such as NRG1 and ERBB2 fusions. IMAs also more frequently present as a pneumonic-like pattern with multifocal and multilobar involvement, and comparative genomic profiling predominantly shows a clonal relationship, suggesting intrapulmonary metastases rather than synchronous primary tumours. Accordingly, these unique features require different therapeutic approaches when compared to nonmucinous adenocarcinomas in general. In this article, we review recent updates on the histopathological, clinical, and molecular features of IMAs, and also highlight some unresolved issues for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Chin Chang
- Department of Pathology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu Zhi Zhang
- Department of Histopathology, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - Andrew G Nicholson
- Department of Histopathology, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK
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Lakbir S, Lahoz S, Cuatrecasas M, Camps J, Glas RA, Heringa J, Meijer GA, Abeln S, Fijneman RJA. Tumour break load is a biologically relevant feature of genomic instability with prognostic value in colorectal cancer. Eur J Cancer 2022; 177:94-102. [PMID: 36334560 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.09.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clinically implemented prognostic biomarkers are lacking for the 80% of colorectal cancers (CRCs) that exhibit chromosomal instability (CIN). CIN is characterised by chromosome segregation errors and double-strand break repair defects that lead to somatic copy number aberrations (SCNAs) and chromosomal rearrangement-associated structural variants (SVs), respectively. We hypothesise that the number of SVs is a distinct feature of genomic instability and defined a new measure to quantify SVs: the tumour break load (TBL). The present study aimed to characterise the biological impact and clinical relevance of TBL in CRC. METHODS Disease-free survival and SCNA data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas and two independent CRC studies. TBL was defined as the sum of SCNA-associated SVs. RNA gene expression data of microsatellite stable (MSS) CRC samples were used to train an RNA-based TBL classifier. Dichotomised DNA-based TBL data were used for survival analysis. RESULTS TBL shows large variation in CRC with poor correlation to tumour mutational burden and fraction of genome altered. TBL impact on tumour biology was illustrated by the high accuracy of classifying cancers in TBL-high and TBL-low (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]: 0.88; p < 0.01). High TBL was associated with disease recurrence in 85 stages II-III MSS CRCs from The Cancer Genome Atlas (hazard ratio [HR]: 6.1; p = 0.007) and in two independent validation series of 57 untreated stages II-III (HR: 4.1; p = 0.012) and 74 untreated stage II MSS CRCs (HR: 2.4; p = 0.01). CONCLUSION TBL is a prognostic biomarker in patients with non-metastatic MSS CRC with great potential to be implemented in routine molecular diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soufyan Lakbir
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, the Netherlands; Department of Pathology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, Amsterdam 1066CX, the Netherlands
| | - Sara Lahoz
- Translational Colorectal Cancer Genomics, Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Oncology Team, Institut D'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Barcelona, 08036, Spain
| | - Miriam Cuatrecasas
- Pathology Department, Biomedical Diagnostic Center (CDB), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Institut D'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, 08036, Spain
| | - Jordi Camps
- Translational Colorectal Cancer Genomics, Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Oncology Team, Institut D'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Barcelona, 08036, Spain; Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Spain
| | - Roel A Glas
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, the Netherlands; Department of Pathology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, Amsterdam 1066CX, the Netherlands
| | - Jaap Heringa
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, the Netherlands; AIMMS - Amsterdam Institute for Molecules Medicines and Systems, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, the Netherlands
| | - Gerrit A Meijer
- Department of Pathology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, Amsterdam 1066CX, the Netherlands
| | - Sanne Abeln
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081HV, the Netherlands; Life Sciences and Health Research Group, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), Science Park 123, Amsterdam 1098 XG, the Netherlands.
| | - Remond J A Fijneman
- Department of Pathology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, Amsterdam 1066CX, the Netherlands.
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Soong TR, Dillon DA, Rice-Stitt TL, Wieczorek TJ, Baker GM, Darvishian F, Collins LC, Lester SC, Schnitt SJ, Harrison BT. Invasive lobular carcinoma with extracellular mucin (ILCEM): clinicopathologic and molecular characterization of a rare entity. Mod Pathol 2022; 35:1370-1382. [PMID: 35477749 DOI: 10.1038/s41379-022-01084-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Invasive lobular carcinoma with extracellular mucin (ILCEM) is a rare histologic subtype of breast cancer. Little is known about the pathologic or genomic signatures that distinguish ILCEM from classic invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) or mucinous carcinoma. We studied 17 breast cancers with lobular morphology and extracellular mucin. Thirteen tumors with sufficient tissue for DNA extraction were analyzed by a next generation sequencing (NGS) assay that interrogates 447 genes for mutations and copy number variations (CNVs). Median patient age was 66 yrs (range: 31-77 yrs). Sixteen patients presented with masses, 7 of which were >2 cm. Seven patients had lymph node metastases. The cases of ILCEM were moderately (n = 13) or poorly differentiated (n = 4), frequently exhibiting variant morphology that has not been previously described or emphasized, including grade 3 nuclei (n = 11), diffuse signet ring cells (n = 10), solid growth (n = 4), tumor necrosis (n = 3) or apocrine features (n = 2). All tumors showed absent or reduced membranous E-cadherin expression. Concurrent lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) was seen in 11/17 cases, 1 of which was a striking example of signet ring cell LCIS with extracellular mucin. Receptor profiles were ER+/HER2- (n = 15) and ER+/HER2+ (n = 2). With a median follow-up of 83.5 months (range: 3-171 months) in 12 patients with available information, 8 patients had recurrences resulting in 4 cancer-related deaths. The most common CNVs were 16q loss (n = 11) and 1q gain (n = 9). CDH1 gene-level alterations were detected in all but one case, including frameshift (n = 7), nonsense (n = 2), and donor splice site (n = 1) mutations and indels (n = 2). Recurrent mutations were also seen in PIK3CA (n = 3), POLQ (n = 3), TP53 (n = 3), ERBB3 (n = 3), ERBB2 (n = 2), and RUNX1 (n = 2). Genes with recurrent amplifications included GATA3 (n = 4), FOXA1 (n = 3), CCND1 (n = 2). Our data highlights ILCEM as a distinct variant of ILC that often presents with higher-grade and variant morphologic features and is associated with an aggressive clinical course. NGS data support an overall lobular-type molecular profile and reveal potentially targetable alterations in a subset of cases with recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Rinda Soong
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Deborah A Dillon
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Tad John Wieczorek
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gabrielle M Baker
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Farbod Darvishian
- Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Laura C Collins
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Susan C Lester
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stuart J Schnitt
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Beth T Harrison
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. .,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Jung M. Mucinous carcinoma of the breast: distinctive histopathologic and genetic characteristics. KOSIN MEDICAL JOURNAL 2022. [DOI: 10.7180/kmj.22.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Mucinous carcinoma is a rare histologic type of breast cancer that, when classified with favorable histology, can be treated with different therapeutic options. This study reviews the histologic findings of mucinous carcinoma that support or exclude favorable histology and emphasizes the necessity of an appropriate gross examination with radiologic findings for an accurate diagnosis. In addition, unusual findings such as micropapillary arrangements and lobular differentiation in mucinous carcinoma and their implications for prognosis and treatment are reviewed. Mucinous carcinoma involves upregulation of MUC2, a mucus-associated gene common in mucinous carcinoma of the breast as well as various other organs. In mucinous carcinoma, the fraction of genome altered and tumor mutation burden are lower than those of invasive carcinoma of no special type, the most common histology of breast cancer. In addition, the genetic alterations found in mucinous carcinoma are diverse, unlike the pathognomonic genetic alterations observed in other histologic types of breast cancer. These genetic features support the importance of conventional microscopic evaluations for the pathologic differential diagnosis of mucinous carcinoma of the breast in routine practice. A variety of breast lesions, including mucinous cystadenocarcinoma and mucocele-like lesions, as well as mucinous carcinoma from other organs, can mimic mucinous carcinoma of the breast. In order to obtain an accurate pathologic diagnosis, careful evaluation of the overall histopathologic characteristics and ancillary testing are required to provide information on appropriate treatment and prognosis.
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Lee JE, Choi YY, An JY, Kim KT, Shin SJ, Cheong JH. Clinicopathologic and genomic characteristics of mucinous gastric adenocarcinoma. Gastric Cancer 2022; 25:697-711. [PMID: 35534656 DOI: 10.1007/s10120-022-01295-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mucinous gastric adenocarcinoma (MGC) is a rare but distinctive histologic subtype of gastric cancer (GC). The clinico-pathologic and genomic characteristics of MGC have not been well evaluated. METHODS We collected individual data from five cohorts targeting the microsatellite instability (MSI) of GC (n = 5089) to evaluate the clinico-pathologic characteristics of MGC. In addition, public genomic databases were used for genomic analysis. The characteristics of MGC were compared with those of non-mucinous GC (NMGC). RESULTS MGC (n = 158, 3.1%) showed distinctive characteristics in terms of age, sex, and TNM stage compared to NMGC (n = 4931). MGC was frequently associated with MSI-high (OR: 2.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44-3.40, p < 0.001), while mutually exclusive to the Epstein-Barr virus type. The prognosis of MGC was better than that of NMGC (adj.HR: 0.731, 95% CI 0.556-0.962, p = 0.025). There was no clear benefit from postoperative chemotherapy in MGC. TP53 was the main driver mutation in the MGC without recurrent variants. MGC was related to high expression of GPR120 and B3GNT6 and moderate regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-up signature with a high EMT-down signature, and those characteristics was related to favorable prognosis of GC (log-rank p = 0.044, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). MSI-H of MGC was associated with low cancer-associate fibroblasts but high CD274 (PD-L1) expression compared to microsatellite stable MGC, suggesting that immune checkpoint inhibitors may be useful for the MSI-H of MGC. CONCLUSION MGC could be a surrogate for performing MSI but not the EBV test in GC. Further, its genetic characteristics lead to a favorable prognosis for MGC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Eun Lee
- Graduate School of Integrated Medicine, CHA Ilsan Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Pocheon, Korea
| | - Yoon Young Choi
- Department of Surgery, CHA Ilsan Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Pocheon, Korea.,Department of Surgery, Soonchunhyang Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea
| | - Ji Yeong An
- Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Ki Tae Kim
- Department of Molecular Genetics, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Su-Jin Shin
- Department of Pathology, Yonsei University Health System, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jae-Ho Cheong
- Department of Surgery, Yonsei University Health System, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, Korea.
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Meng NL, Wang YK, Wang HL, Zhou JL, Wang SN. Research on the Histological Features and Pathological Types of Gastric Adenocarcinoma With Mucinous Differentiation. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:829702. [PMID: 35308509 PMCID: PMC8931263 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.829702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
ObjectiveTo discuss the histological features, pathological types, and prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma with mucinous differentiation.MethodsSpecimens of 189 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma with mucinous differentiation were collected for detailed histomorphology, immunohistochemistry, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and follow-up.ResultsIn accordance with the morphological and histological structural features of the cancer cells as well as the area ratio of the mucus, gastric adenocarcinoma with mucinous differentiation was divided into four types, namely pure mucinous carcinoma, intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma, signet ring cell type mucinous carcinoma, and mixed cell type mucinous carcinoma. Based on the macroscopic types according to Bormann's classification, pure mucinous carcinoma was mostly Type I, intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma was mostly Type II, signet ring cell type mucinous carcinoma was mostly Type IV, and mixed cell type mucinous carcinoma was mostly Type III. The 5-year survival rate was 69.2, 64.2, 0, and 31.5%, respectively. There was a statistical difference in the lymph node metastasis rate and survival rate of the four carcinoma types. The invasion features of pure mucinous carcinoma entailed penetrating corrosively in a push-in form, without blood vessel or lymphatic metastasis and with few lymphocytes and lymphatic nodules in the marginal area. Thus, there was little lymph node metastasis and invasion of nerves. The HER2 protein expression rate was 40.2% (76/189), the HER2 gene amplification detected by FISH technology was 16.9% (32/189).ConclusionThe independent histological type, four subtypes, and histopathological classification of gastric mucinous adenocarcinoma are important for the prognosis evaluation and precise treatment of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nian-Long Meng
- Department of Pathology, 989th Hospital of the Joint Logistic Support Force of the PLA, Luoyang, China
| | - Yang-kun Wang
- Department of Pathology, Foresea Life Insurance Guangzhou General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hai-Li Wang
- Department of Pathology, 989th Hospital of the Joint Logistic Support Force of the PLA, Luoyang, China
| | - Jun-Ling Zhou
- Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Su-nan Wang
- Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Su-nan Wang
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