[Microcystic adnexal carcinoma: A case report]. / Carcinome annexiel microkystique : à propos d'une observation.

We report a case of microcystic adnexal carcinoma in a 80-year-old woman. This is a rare malignant adnexal cutaneous tumor with glandular and follicular differentiation, rare, often asymptomatic, with late diagnosis and slow growth, locally aggressive and rarely metastatic. The distinction with other benign and malignant skin tumors is difficult.

[Vaginal adenosis: A case report and literature review]. / Adénose vaginale : à propos d'une observation et revue de la littérature.

We report a case of vaginal adenosis in a woman of 42years. This is a rare congenital disorder since cessation of use of diethylstilbestrol (DES), usually of benign course, not to ignore in its tubo-endometrial histological form which may progress to atypical adenosis precursor of vaginal clear cell adenocarcinoma in patients exposed in utero to DES.

Prognostic factors and impact of adjuvant treatments on local and metastatic relapse of soft-tissue sarcoma patients in the competing risks setting.

BACKGROUND: In the medical literature many analyses of outcomes of sarcoma patients were performed without regard to the problem of "competing risks." METHODS: We analyzed local relapse-free and metastasis-free survival in a population of 3255 adult patients with a primary soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) included in the French Sarcoma Group database. Cumulative incidence of local and metastatic relapse was estimated by accounting for death as a competing event. RESULTS: On multivariate analysis, age, tumor site, histological subtype, and grade were independent adverse prognostic factors for local relapse, whereas tumor depth and size had no influence. Histological subtype, tumor depth, tumor size, and grade were independent adverse prognostic factors for metastatic relapse. Despite a higher incidence of competing deaths in patients managed with adjuvant radiotherapy than in patients not receiving radiotherapy, adjuvant radiotherapy was associated with a significant benefit in terms of local relapse-free survival. Despite a similar cumulative incidence of competing deaths in patients with grade 2 and grade 3 disease, we found that the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy was present only in patients with grade 3 and not in patients with grade 2 disease. CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of competing risks, tumor biology reflected by histological grade is a crucial predictor of local relapse, whereas tumor depth and size have poor if any influence. Grade could also predict the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with STS.

Long-term recurrence of soft tissue sarcomas: prognostic factors and implications for prolonged follow-up.

BACKGROUND: To the authors' knowledge, the incidence of late recurrence (> 5 years after initial management) is unknown and no prognostic factors for late events have been characterized in patients with soft tissue sarcomas. METHODS: Follow-up data from patients with localized soft tissue sarcoma who were included in the French Sarcoma Group database from January 1990 to June 2005 were reviewed. The outcomes of interest were the cumulative probabilities of late (> 5 years) local and metastatic disease recurrence with death as a competing event. Estimations and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were computed with the cumulative incidence function. RESULTS: A total of 719 patients who were alive and event free > 5 years after their initial diagnosis were included in the current study. Sixty-seven patients (9.3%) developed a late local recurrence and 42 patients (5.8%) developed a late metastatic recurrence, respectively. On multivariate analysis, internal trunk location (hazard ratio [HR], 3.9; 95% CI, 2.2-6.7 [P < .001]) and tumor size > 100 mm (HR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1-4 [P = .035]) were the 2 factors found to be independently associated with an increased risk of late local recurrence. Grade > 1 (graded according to the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group) (HR, 4.7; 95% CI 1.1-21 [P = .04]) was the sole factor found to be independently associated with an increased risk of late metastatic recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Late recurrence of soft tissue sarcoma is relatively uncommon. However, the results of the current study emphasize the critical role of long-term follow-up to detect late local disease recurrence in patients with retroperitoneal or very large soft tissue sarcomas, and late metastatic recurrence in patients with high-grade disease. Conversely, the prolonged follow-up of patients with grade 1 disease is not needed.

[What diagnosis can be made by the pathologist in a case of sclerosing thyroiditis?]. / Quel diagnostic l'anatomopathologiste peut-il porter en présence d'une thyroïdite sclérosante ?

The pathology of thyroiditis seems well-established with a recognized classification based on clinical and pathological features. However, problems of differential diagnosis remain between both Riedel's and Quervain's thyroiditis and sclerosing Hashimoto's thyroiditis: these entities sometimes lack the characteristic histological pattern, and the clinico-biological data are not always available to the pathologist. We re-examined 18 cases of thyroiditis with sclerosis, retrieved from our files, diagnosed as Riedel's thyroiditis in five cases, Quervain's thyroiditis in five other cases and sclerosing Hashimoto thyroiditis in eight cases. Only two diagnosed cases of Riedel's thyroiditis were pathognomic. Three cases of Quervain's thyroiditis and four cases of sclerosing Hashimoto's thyroiditis presented a slight or moderate extension of the fibrosis in perithyroidal soft-tissues, raising the differential diagnosis of an incipient Riedel's thyroiditis. A definite diagnosis of the type of thyroiditis with sclerosis remains difficult, because all three pathologies present common points. In cases with a characteristic pattern, the diagnosis is straightforward. However, it appears in our study that half of the diagnoses remain ambiguous, because of the existence of histological features common to different entities. In these cases, we think the diagnosis of sclerosing thyroiditis NOS would be more appropriate, the histology not being sufficiently characteristic to make a more specific diagnosis.

Prevalence and prognostic significance of tall cell variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, prognostic factors, and long-term outcome of tall cell variant (TCV) in comparison with the conventional forms of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). A total of 945 patients with thyroid cancer were treated and followed up from 1960 to 1998. Pathologic review was performed in 778 patients (84%) of the cohort. Of these, 674 had PTC: 503 (74%) had conventional form (CF); 56 (8%), TCV; and 155 (17%), other variants of PTC. Tall cell variant was associated with tumors of larger size (P < .001), bilaterality (P < .02), multifocality (P < .04), and extrathyroidal invasion (P < .001). Treatment was similar in both groups, but neck dissection was performed more frequently in patients with TCV (P < .04). The 10-year overall and event-free survival rates were, respectively, 90% and 85% in the CF versus 79% and 67% in the TCV group (P < .001). Histologic subtype did not have an effect on clinical outcome after multivariate analysis, the most relevant factors being age, involved nodes, or the "Metastasis, Age, Completeness, Invasion, Size" classification after multivariate analysis. In this large cohort of patients, TCV represents 8.3% of PTC, and it is a more aggressive form of PTC than CF because of the higher stage and increased grade.

Molecular Pathology of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinomas: A Retrospective Study of 144 Cases.

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a rare tumor, with poorly defined oncogenic molecular mechanisms and limited therapeutic options contributing to its poor prognosis. The aims of this retrospective study were to determine the frequency of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations and to identify the mutational profile of ATC including TERT promoter mutations. METHODS AND MATERIALS: One hundred and forty-four ATC cases were collected from 10 centers that are a part of the national French network for management of refractory thyroid tumors. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis for ALK rearrangement was performed on tissue microarrays. A panel of 50 genes using next-generation sequencing and TERT promoter mutations using Sanger sequencing were also screened. RESULTS: Fluorescence in situ hybridization was interpretable for 90 (62.5%) cases. One (1.1%) case was positive for an ALK rearrangement with a borderline threshold (15% positive cells). Next-generation sequencing results were interpretable for 94 (65.3%) cases, and Sanger sequencing (TERT) for 98 (68.1%) cases. A total of 210 mutations (intronic and exonic) were identified. TP53 alterations were the most frequent (54.4%). Forty-three percent harbored a mutation in the (H-K-N)RAS genes, 13.8% a mutation in the BRAF gene (essentially p.V600E), 17% a PI3K-AKT pathway mutation, 6.4% both RAS and PI3K pathway mutations, and 4.3% both TP53 and PTEN mutations. Nearly 10% of the cases showed no mutations of the RAS, PI3K-AKT pathways, or TP53, with mutations of ALK, ATM, APC, CDKN2A, ERBB2, RET, or SMAD4, including mutations not yet described in thyroid tumors. Genes encoding potentially druggable targets included: mutations in the ATM gene in four (4.3%) cases, in ERBB2 in one (1.1%) case, in MET in one (1.1%) case, and in ALK in one (1.1%) case. A TERT promoter alteration was found in 53 (54.0%) cases, including 43 C228T and 10 C250T mutations. Three out of our cases did not harbor mutations in the panel of genes with therapeutic interest. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that ALK rearrangements in ATC are rare and that the mutational landscape of ATC is heterogeneous, with many genes implicated in the follicular epithelial cell dedifferentiation process. This may explain the limited effectiveness of targeted therapeutic options tested so far.

Shear Wave Elastography in Thyroid Nodules with Indeterminate Cytology: Results of a Prospective Bicentric Study.

BACKGROUND: The clinical management of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology (IC) remains challenging. The role of shear wave elastography (SWE) in this setting is controversial. The aim of the study was to assess the performances of SWE in terms of prediction of malignancy, reproducibility, and combined analysis with ultrasound (US) examination in thyroid nodules with IC. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted in two referral centers. Eligible patients had a thyroid nodule ≥15 mm with IC (Bethesda class III-V) for which surgery had been recommended. Patients underwent a standardized US evaluation combined with a SWE exam followed by surgery. SWE parameters included mean (meanEI; kPa) and max (maxEI) elasticity values, and ratio (meanEI nodule/parenchyma). RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-one nodules (median size 30 mm) in 131 patients were studied. IC was class III in 28%, class IV in 64%, and class V in 8% of cases. After surgery, 21 (16%) nodules were malignant, including nine papillary thyroid cancers (PTC), six follicular thyroid cancers, five poorly differentiated carcinomas, and one large B-cell lymphoma. SWE parameters were similar in benign and malignant nodules, including meanEI (20.2 vs. 19.6 kPa), maxEI (34.3 vs. 32.5 kPa), and ratio (1.57 vs. 1.38). In malignant nodules, meanEI, maxEI, and ratio were higher in the classic PTC variants (n = 4) than in the other PTC variants (n = 5; p < 0.02) and in non-PTC tumors (n = 12; p < 0.005). Intra- and inter-observer coefficients of variations for meanEI in nodules were 23% and 26%, respectively. The French Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System score, the American Thyroid Association US classification, and the EU-Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System were not associated with malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Despite high elasticity values in classic PTC variants, conventional SWE indexes failed to discriminate between benign and malignant tumors in thyroid nodules with IC.

Identification of I1171N resistance mutation in ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer tumor sample and circulating tumor DNA.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is sensitive to ALK inhibitor therapy, but resistance invariably develops and can be mediated by certain secondary mutations. The detection of these mutations is useful to guide treatment decisions, but tumors are not always easily accessible to re-biopsy. We report the case of a patient with ALK-rearranged NSCLC who presented acquired resistance to crizotinib and then alectinib. Sequencing analyses of DNA from a liver metastasis biopsy sample and circulating tumor DNA both found the same I1171N ALK kinase domain mutation, known to confer resistance to certain ALK inhibitors. However, the patient then received ceritinib, a 2nd generation ALK inhibitor, and achieved another partial response. This case underlines how ALK resistance mutation detection in peripheral blood could be a reliable, safer, and less invasive alternative to tissue-based samples in NSCLC.

Incremental Value of a Dedicated Head and Neck Acquisition during 18F-FDG PET/CT in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: 18F-FDG-PET/CT is a useful tool used to evidence persistent/recurrent disease (PRD) in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and iodine-refractory lesions. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic value at the cervical level of the routine whole-body (WB) acquisition and that of a complementary head and neck (HN) acquisition, performed successively during the same PET/CT study. METHODS: PET/CT studies combining WB and HN acquisitions performed in 85 consecutive patients were retrospectively reviewed by two nuclear medicine physicians. 18F-FDG uptake in cervical lymph nodes (LN) or in the thyroid bed was assessed. Among the 85 patients, the PET/CT results of the 26 who subsequently underwent neck surgery were compared with surgical and pathological reports. The size of each largest nodal metastasis was assessed by a pathologist. RESULTS: In the 85 patients, inter-observer agreement was excellent for both WB and HN PET/CT interpretation. Of the 26 patients who underwent surgery, 25 had pathology proven PRD in the neck. Of these 25 patients, 15 displayed FDG uptake on either WB or HN PET. In these 15 patients, HN PET detected more malignant lesions than WB PET did (21/27 = 78% vs. 12/27 = 44%, P = 0.006). Node/background ratios were significantly higher on HN than on WB PET (P<0.0001). Three false-negative studies (20%) on WB PET were upstaged as true-positive on HN PET. The mean size of the largest LN metastasis was 3 mm for the LN detected neither on WB nor on HN PET, 7 mm for the metastasis detected on HN but not on WB PET, and 13 mm for those detected on both acquisitions (P = 0.0004). Receiver-Operating Characteristic analysis showed that area under the curve was higher for HN PET than for WB PET (0.97 [95%CI, 0.90-0.99] vs 0.88 [95%CI, 0.78-0.95], P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: HN acquisition improves the ability to detect PRD in the neck compared with WB acquisition alone. We recommend systematically adding an HN acquisition when PET/CT is performed to detect PRD in the neck.

Histologic grade, but not SYT-SSX fusion type, is an important prognostic factor in patients with synovial sarcoma: a multicenter, retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: To assess the prognostic value of SYT-SSX fusion type, in comparison with other factors, in a population of 165 patients with synovial sarcoma (SS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data on 165 patients with SS (141 with localized disease at diagnosis) were studied retrospectively. The following parameters were examined for their potential prognostic value: age at diagnosis, sex, tumor site (extremities v proximal/truncal), size, histology, mitotic count, necrosis, histologic grade (Federation Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer system), stage (1997 tumor-node-metastasis system classification), surgical margin status (assessed histologically), and fusion type (SYT-SSX1 v SYT-SSX2). Median follow-up time was 37 months (range, 2 to 302 months). RESULTS: Among those patients with localized disease at diagnosis, median and 5-year disease-specific survivals (DSS) for the SYT-SSX1 and SYT-SSX2 subgroups were 126 months and 67.4% versus 82 months and 63.2%, respectively (P = .12). Median and 5-year metastasis-free survivals (MFS) were 84 months and 54.2% for SYT-SSX1 versus 50 months and 47.6% for SYT-SSX2 (P = .76). Univariate analyses showed that high histologic grade (grade 3), high mitotic count (>/= 10 mitoses/10 high-power fields), stage III disease, size greater than 7 cm, tumor necrosis, and presence of areas of poorly differentiated morphology were significant adverse prognostic factors for DSS and MFS, whereas SYT-SSX fusion type, tumor histology (biphasic v monophasic), and patient sex were not. Age greater than 35 years adversely affected DSS but not MFS. In multivariate analyses, histologic grade was the most significant prognostic factor for both DSS and MFS. CONCLUSION: For patients with localized SS, histologic grade but not SYT-SSX fusion type is a strong predictor of survival.

Prognostic value of microscopic lymph node involvement in patients with papillary thyroid cancer.

CONTEXT: The impact of microscopic nodal involvement on the risk of persistent/recurrent disease (PRD) remains controversial in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to assess the risk of PRD and the 4-year outcome in PTC patients according to their initial nodal status [pNx, pN0, pN1 microscopic (cN0/pN1) or pN1 macroscopic (cN1/pN1)]. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort study. PATIENTS: The study included 305 consecutive PTC patients referred for radioiodine ablation from 2006 to 2011. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: We evaluated the risk of structural PRD and the disease status at the last follow-up. At ablation, persistent disease was consistently assessed by using post-radioiodine ablation scintigraphy combining total body scan and neck and thorax single-photon computed tomography-computed tomography (SPECT-CT) acquisition. RESULTS: Of 305 patients, 128 (42%) were pNx, 84 (28%) pN0, 44 (14%) pN1 microscopic, and 49 (16%) pN1 macroscopic. The 4-year cumulative risk of PRD was higher in pN1 macroscopic than in pN1 microscopic patients (49% vs 24%, P = .03), and higher in pN1 microscopic than in pN0 (12%, P = .01) or pNx patients (6%, P < .001). On multivariate analysis, tumor size of 20 mm or greater [relative risk (RR) 3.4; P = .0001], extrathyroid extension (RR 2.6; P < .003), pN1 macroscopic (RR 4.5; P < .0001), and pN1 microscopic (RR 2.5; P < .02) were independent risk factors for PRD. At the last visit, the proportion of patients with no evidence of disease decreased from pNx (98%), pN0 (93%), and pN1 microscopic (89%) to pN1 macroscopic patients (70%) (P < .0001, Cochran-Armitage trend test). Extrathyroid extension (odds ratio 9.7; P < .0001) and N1 macroscopic (OR 4.9; P < .001) independently predicted persistent disease at the last visit, but N1 microscopic did not. CONCLUSIONS: PATIENTS with microscopic lymph node involvement present an intermediate outcome between that observed in pN0-pNx patients and pN1 macroscopic patients. These data may justify modifications to the risk recurrence staging systems.

Pleomorphic liposarcoma: clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and follow-up analysis of 63 cases: a study from the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group.

The clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical features of 63 pleomorphic liposarcomas are presented. There were 35 men and 28 women (median age 63 years; range 18-93 years). Tumor size ranged from 2 to 23 cm (median 10 cm). Tumor locations included lower extremity (36.5%), especially the thigh (28.5%), limb girdles (17.5%), upper extremity (16%), thoracoabdominal wall (9.5%), and internal trunk (20.5%). A total of 75% were deep seated and/or extracompartmental. Histologically, lesions show a varying combination of lipogenic and nonlipogenic areas characterized by malignant fibrous histiocytoma-like, round cell liposarcoma-like, and/or epithelioid/carcinoma-like features. A pericytic pattern was focally present in 15 (24%) tumors. Eighteen (29%) lesions were grade 2, and 45 (71%) were grade 3 sarcomas. Tumor necrosis was observed in 51 (81%) cases, vascular invasion in three, and mitotic counts ranged from 3 to 124 per 10 high power fields (median 25). Lipogenic areas were S-100 protein immunoreactive, at least focally, in 20 of 42 (48%) cases. Nonlipogenic areas showed focal reactivity for smooth muscle actin (24 of 49; 49%), desmin (9 of 48; 19%), CD34 (18 of 45; 40%), S-100 protein (5 of 49, 10%), CD68 (6 of 46, 13%), and epithelial membrane antigen (13 of 49, 26.5%). Epithelioid areas showed epithelial membrane antigen (4 of 11; 36%) but not cytokeratin (0 of 11) reactivity. Treatment procedures in 51 patients consisted of simple tumorectomy (16) and wide excision (33). Five and 31 patients received neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, respectively. Follow-up (48 patients, range 7-276 months; median 38 months) showed a 45% local recurrence rate and a 42.5% metastasis rate, metastases occurring mostly in lungs and pleura. Seventeen patients (35%) died of disease, of whom none was metastatic at diagnosis. Five-year overall, metastasis-free, and local recurrence-free survivals were 57%, 50%, and 48%, respectively. Patient age > or =60 years, truncal tumor location, deep situation, tumor size >5 cm, vascular invasion, and incomplete tumor excision were significant adverse prognostic factors. Tumor grade and histology did not affect patient outcome. In conclusion, pleomorphic liposarcoma is a rare, often deep-seated and limb-based aggressive and metastasizing neoplasm of late adulthood. It shows a wide range of morphologic appearances, but tumor grade and histology have no effect on patient outcome.