A case of Epstein-Barr virus-associated smooth muscle tumor of the posterior interosseous nerve mimicking schwannoma.

Here we report a case of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated smooth muscle tumor (SMT) of the peripheral nerve in a young man seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Initially, the lesion was clinically and radiologically confused with a schwannoma of the forearm's posterior interosseous nerve. The diagnosis was corrected by histological examination, which revealed a well-defined tumor consisting of eosinophilic spindle cells, positive for α-smooth muscle actin on immunohistochemistry and positive for EBV-encoded early RNA (EBER) on in situ hybridization. EBV-associated SMTs are well described in the literature; they are frequently multiple and arise in many organs. They occur preferentially in young adults with poorly controlled and chronic HIV infection. The prognosis is influenced by the complications of immunodeficiency. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a peripheral nerve location. Because EBV-associated SMT should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a tumor in the peripheral or central nervous systems in immunocompromised patients, EBV should be tested in these locations. Thus, a cause of immunodeficiency should be identified when the diagnosis of EBV-associated SMT is made.

[Rapid Idylla™ mutational testing: Current and future theranostic applications]. / Diagnostic mutationnel rapide Idylla™ : applications théranostiques actuelles et futures.

Molecular analyses have become mandatory for treatment choices in patients with various advanced cancers. Beside next generation sequencing (NGS) analyzing genes panels, non-NGS targeted analyses about the main biomarkers remain of interest. In this article, we review the data about the fast and fully automated real-time PCR platform Idylla™ (Biocartis, Mechelen, Belgium) permitting the mutational analyses of BRAF, KRAS, NRAS, EGFR and microsatellite instability notably in melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer samples. Future applications as well as the implementation of Idylla™ in the workflow of pathology and/or molecular biology laboratories are also discussed.

Detection of NTRK fusions in glioblastoma: fluorescent in situ hybridisation is more useful than pan-TRK immunohistochemistry as a screening tool prior to RNA sequencing.

Glioblastomas are frequent malignant brain tumours with a very poor prognosis and a need for new and efficient therapeutic strategies. With the approval of anti-TRK targeted therapies to treat patients with advanced NTRK-rearranged cancers, independent of the type of cancer, potential new treatment opportunities are available for the 0.5-5% of patients with NTRK-rearranged glioblastomas. Identification of these rare NTRK-rearranged glioblastomas requires efficient diagnostic tools and strategies which are evaluated in this study. We compared the results of NTRK1, NTRK2 and NTRK3 fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) assays to those of pan-TRK immunohistochemistry (IHC) using two EPR17341 and A7H6R clones in a set of 196 patients with glioblastomas. Cases with at least 15% of positive nuclei using FISH analyses were further analysed using RNA sequencing. Above the 15% threshold, seven positive glioblastomas (3.57%) were identified by FISH assays (4 NTRK1, 3 NTRK2, no NTRK3). NTRK rearrangements were confirmed by RNA sequencing analyses in four cases [1 LMNA-NTRK1, 1 PRKAR2A-NTRK2, 1 SPECC1L-NTRK2 and 1 NACC2-NTRK2 fusions, i.e., 4/196 (2%) of NTRK-rearranged tumours in our series] but no rearrangement was detected in three samples with less than 30% of positive tumour nuclei as determined by NTRK1 FISH. Pan-TRK immunostaining showed major discrepancies when using either the EPR17341 or the A7H6R clones for the following criteria: main intensity, H-Score based scoring and homogeneity/heterogeneity of staining (Kappa values <0.2). This led to defining adequate criteria to identify NTRK-rearranged gliomas exhibiting strong and diffuse immunostaining contrasting to the variable and heterogeneous staining in non-NTRK-rearranged gliomas (p<0.0001). As assessing NTRK rearrangements has become crucial for glioma therapy, FISH seems to be a valuable tool to maximise access to TRK testing in patients with glioblastomas. In contrast to other cancers, pan-TRK IHC appears of limited interest in this field because there is no 'on/off' IHC positivity criterion to distinguish between NTRK-rearranged and non-NTRK-rearranged gliomas. RNA sequencing analyses are necessary in FISH positive cases with less than 30% positive nuclei, to avoid false positivity when scoring is close to the detection threshold.

HER2 Mutated and Nonmutated Non-small Cell Lung Carcinomas Can Harbor Heterogeneous HER2 Gene Amplification and HER2 Protein Expression.

Molecular analyses have become mandatory for treatment choices in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). Among them, HER2 gene mutation, HER2 gene amplification, and HER2 protein expression consist in potential targets of various treatments. Tumor heterogeneity and overlapping of molecular alterations may cause dilemmas in treatment choices but to date there are few that reported about HER2 with discrepant data. We led a retrospective study evaluating HER2 protein expression and HER2 gene/chromosome 17 copy number variations across different tumor areas and samples from patients with advanced NSCLC harboring HER2 gene mutations and other oncogenic mutations. Among patients with HER2-mutated (10 patients) and nonmutated lung adenocarcinomas (10 patients), we observed frequent heterogeneous HER2 protein expression with no correlation with HER2 gene copy number variations. HER2 gene amplification was observed in 6 patients (3 HER2-mutated and 3 HER2-nonmutated), but with intrasample heterogeneity in 2 cases and intersample heterogeneity in another case. Our small case series emphasizes the potential overlapping and spatial heterogeneity of HER2 alterations in NSCLC, which must be taken into account as a limitation in building predictive strategies accompanying the development of anti-HER2 therapeutic strategies in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Evaluation of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF mutational status and microsatellite instability in early colorectal carcinomas invading the submucosa (pT1): towards an in-house molecular prognostication for pathologists?

AIM: We aimed to study the prognostic value of KRAS, NRAS, BRAF mutations and microsatellite stable (MSS)/instable (MSI) in the field of colorectal cancer invading the submucosa (ie, pT1 colorectal cancer (CRC)). METHODS: We led a case-control study in tumour samples from 60 patients with pT1 CRC with (20 cases) and without (40 cases) metastatic evolution (5 years of follow-up) which were analysed for KRAS, NRAS, BRAF mutations (Idylla testing and next generation sequencing, NGS) and MSS/MSI status (Idylla testing and expression of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins using immunohistochemistry). RESULTS: KRAS mutations were encountered in 11/20 (55%) cases and 21/40 (52.5%) controls (OR=1.11 (0.38 to 3.25), p=0.8548), NRAS mutations in 1/20 (5%) cases and 3/40 (7.5%) controls (OR=3.08 (0.62 to 15.39), p=0.1698) and BRAF mutations in 3/20 (15%) cases and 6/40 (15%) controls (OR=1.00 (0.22 to 4.5), p=1.00). A MSI status was diagnosed in 3/20 (15%) cases and 5/40 (12.5%) controls (OR=1.2353 (0.26 to 5.79), p=0.7885). Beyond the absence of significant association between the metastatic evolution and any of the studied molecular parameters, we observed a very good agreement between methods analysing KRAS, NRAS and BRAF mutations (Kappa value of 0.849 (0.748 to 0.95) between Idylla and NGS) and MSS/MSI (Idylla)-proficient MMR/deficient MMR (immunohistochemistry) status (Kappa value of 1.00). CONCLUSION: Although being feasible using the fully automated Idylla method as well as NGS, the molecular testing of KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and MSS/MSI status does not seem useful for prognostic purpose in the field of pT1 CRC.

PD-L1 Immunohistochemistry-Discrepant Results Between Synchronous Tumor Samples May Cause More Treatment Choice Dilemmas Than Molecular Heterogeneity in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers.

Biomarker analyses have become mandatory for treatment choices in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancers. PD-L1 expression for immunotherapy as well as oncogenic molecular alterations for targeted therapies must be analyzed in tumor samples. Intersample heterogeneity may cause dilemmas in treatment choices when faced with discrepant biomarker results. We led a retrospective study evaluating the potential impact on guideline-based therapeutic decisions of biomarker analyses performed in several synchronous tumor samples per patient. We collected retrospective data about patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancers, and synchronous tumor paired samples were analyzed for PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) and oncogene molecular statuses. Among 34 patients, none had a discrepant result between paired samples with respect to oncogene molecular statuses. At the opposite, intersample-discrepant PD-L1 IHC results may have caused treatment choice dilemmas for 6 (17.6%) patients discussing first-line therapy options (ie, immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy versus other systemic therapy with regard to the threshold of ≥50% PD-L1 IHC-positive tumor cells). In addition, for 6 (17.6%) other patients, different PD-L1 IHC results may have also influenced the choice of one therapy or another in second-line therapy (ie, with regard to the threshold of ≥1% PD-L1 IHC-positive tumor cells). In our case series, discrepant results with regard to PD-L1 IHC between paired tumor samples could generate more treatment choice dilemmas than the molecular heterogeneity of oncogenic drivers.

Screening for NTRK-rearranged Tumors Using Immunohistochemistry: Comparison of 2 Different pan-TRK Clones in Melanoma Samples.

NTRK-rearranged tumors could be treated using promising anti-TRK-targeted therapies in patients with advanced cancers including melanomas. Different targeted therapies are being developed together with different screening strategies including pan-TRK immunohistochemistry (IHC) as first-line screening strategies. In this technical study, we compared 2 pan-TRK IHC (using A7H6R and EPR17341 clones) in tumor samples of patients with advanced melanomas. IHC-positive cases were studied using NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3 fluorescent in situ hybridization tests. Among 300 melanoma samples, 4 samples were positive using A7H6R IHC, but none using EPR17341. None of the 4 samples were NTRK-rearranged using fluorescent in situ hybridization. Different staining was also noted in nontumor kidney tissue, whereas an NTRK1-rearranged tumor used as positive control was strongly stained with both A7H6R and EPR17341 clones. Future studies including more numerous NTRK-rearranged tumors are required to further study and compare the performances of different pan-TRK clones in the screening of NTRK-rearranged cancers.

Avoiding non-contributive molecular results in cancer samples: proposal of a score-based approach for sample choice.

Mutational analyses have become crucial for therapeutic choices in patients with advanced lung cancer, colorectal cancer and melanoma. Short turnaround times for molecular analyses are necessary to match the patient's therapeutic management. Non-contributive molecular analyses may increase the delay in reaching a relevant mutational status. We attempted to identify criteria in samples associated with non-contributive molecular results to better anticipate them and select samples with contributive analyses. We compared several criteria such as cancer type, sample type, organ of origin and percentage of tumour cells between samples with non-contributive or contributive EGFR, KRAS, NRAS and BRAF mutation analyses. Among two sets of 3367 and 554 tumour samples analysed in 2015-2017 and 2018, respectively, 11.7% and 15.7% of sample analyses were non-contributive for at least one oncogene. Lung cancer and melanoma cancer subtypes [odds ratio (OR)=7.2], cytological (OR=1.8) or bone samples (OR=8.5) and a percentage of tumour cells ≤20% (OR=41.4) were significantly associated with non-contributive results. By combining these parameters in a scoring system, we were able to predict the contributive or non-contributive result of a molecular analysis with sensitivity and specificity higher than 80% in a validation set of samples. Predicting the contributive or non-contributive result of a molecular analysis is feasible in samples on the basis of simple features. A combination of these features could be used to better choose samples to analyse in order to reduce the rate of non-contributive molecular results and related treatment delays and costs in patients with advanced cancers.

Histopathological factors help to predict lymph node metastases more efficiently than extra-nodal recurrences in submucosa invading pT1 colorectal cancer.

The therapeutic management of patients with endoscopic resection of colorectal cancer invading the submucosa (i.e. pT1 CRC) depends on the balance between the risk of cancer relapse and the risk of surgery-related morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study was to report on the histopathological risk factors predicting lymph node metastases and recurrences in an exhaustive case series comprising every pT1 CRC (of adenocarcinoma subtype only) diagnosed in Finistère (France) during 5-years. For 312 patients with at least 46 months follow-up included in the digestive cancers registry database, histopathological factors required for risk stratification in pT1 CRC were reviewed. Patients were treated by endoscopic resection only (51 cases), surgery only (138 cases), endoscopic resection followed by surgery (102 cases) or transanal resection (21 cases). Lymph node metastases were diagnosed in 19 patients whereas 15 patients had an extra-nodal recurrence (7 local recurrences only, 4 distant metastases only and 4 combining local and distant recurrences). Four patients with distant metastases died of their cancer. Poor tumor differentiation, vascular invasion and high grade tumor budding on HES slides were notably identified as strong risk-factors of lymph node metastases but the prediction of extra-nodal recurrences (local, distant and sometimes fatal) was less obvious, albeit it was more frequent in patients treated by transanal resection than with other treatment strategies. Beyond good performances in predicting lymph node metastases and guiding therapeutic decision in patients with pT1 CRC, our study points that extra-nodal recurrence of cancer is more difficult to predict and requires further investigations.

Decalcification can cause the failure of BRAF molecular analyses and anti-BRAFV600E VE1 immunohistochemistry.

BRAF mutation detection is worthwhile for the management of patients with some advanced cancers. The tumor samples are sometimes difficult to analyze using DNA-based molecular methods because of poor tumor DNA quality or quantity. Anti-BRAFV600E VE1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been proposed as a valuable ancillary tool to analyze some "molecularly challenging" tumor samples. In this technical study, we focused on its application in the field of decalcified tumor samples. We selected four patients with known BRAFV600E-mutated cancer (3 metastatic melanomas and 1 hairy cell leukemia) and paired non-decalcified/decalcified tumor samples. Molecular analyses failed in the four decalcified samples (3 bone metastases and 1 osteo-medullar biopsy) with non-contributive mutation status. Whereas non-decalcified tumor samples were all positive using anti-BRAFV600E VE1 IHC, the four decalcified samples were concluded negative. Because decalcified tumor samples are difficult to analyze from a molecular point of view, it is tempting to use IHC instead of DNA-based methods searching for BRAFV600E mutations in these samples. Nevertheless, the decalcification process may also cause false-negative results using VE1 IHC. Decalcified samples require specific and optimized IHC and molecular protocols and quality controls.

[Meningeal melanoma arising from a preexisting meningeal melanocytoma: A clinical, pathological and cytogenetic study about one case]. / Transformation d'un mélanocytome méningé en mélanome : étude clinique, histopathologique et cytogénétique.

Meningeal melanocytic tumors are rare. We report an exceptional case of transformation of a meningeal melanocytoma in a malignant melanoma. The course of the disease extents from 61-years to 85-years and ends with the death of the patient. Besides histopathological and immunohistochemical data, we also report the array CGH study of the melanocytoma and melanoma components suggesting the malignant transformation from whole chromosome gains in the melanocytoma to additional segmental aberrations in the malignant melanoma. Beyond the rarity of this tumor subtype, this case report highlights the potential interest of molecular analyses for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in the field of meningeal melanocytic tumors.

Non-secretory breast carcinomas lack NTRK rearrangements and TRK protein expression.

Anti-TRK targeted therapies offer opportunities to treat patients with advanced NTRK1/2/3-rearranged cancers. Beyond NTRK-rearranged secretory breast carcinomas, little is known about NTRK rearrangements and the expression of TRK proteins in non-secretory breast carcinomas. We search for TRK proteins expressions using pan-TRK immunohistochemistry and NTRK1, NTRK2 and NTRK3 rearrangements using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) tests in a set of tissue microarray included breast carcinomas. Only 1/339 invasive breast carcinomas, the only example of secretory subtype, was positive using pan-TRK immunohistochemistry and harboured a NTRK-rearrangement (NTRK1 positive FISH test). According to our results, druggable NTRK rearrangements and related-TRK proteins expression are not encountered in non-secretory breast carcinomas.

High reproducibility is attainable in assessing histoprognostic parameters of pT1 colorectal cancer using routine histopathology slides and immunohistochemistry analyses.

Assessment of the risk of lymph node invasion and tumour recurrence is critical to determine whether additional surgery is required in patients with endoscopically-removed pT1 colorectal cancer (CRC). A reproducible assessment of this risk of recurrence based on histopathological parameters is crucial for relevant therapeutic decisions. The inter-observer reproducibility of these parameters was the subject of our study. Two pathologists independently analysed 163 endoscopically-removed pT1 CRC recorded in a local digestive cancer registry database (Finistère, France). Using haematoxylin-eosin-saffron (HES) and immunohistochemistry slides, they evaluated several parameters related to the risk of tumour recurrence according to the international pT1 CRC-dedicated guidelines. Based on Kappa and intra-class correlation coefficients, good to very good inter-observer agreement was obtained by analysing vertical and lateral margins, submucosal invasion, tumour differentiation and lymphovascular invasion. The reproducibility of tumour budding quantification was only fair on the basis of HES slides but reached a very good agreement using cytokeratin immunohistochemistry. Dual colour cytokeratin and podoplanin immunohistochemistry also improved inter-observer agreement for the detection of lymphovascular invasion. All patients with loco-regional nodal metastases (7 of 101 who underwent complementary surgery) or distant metastases (3 patients) were diagnosed as having a high risk of recurrence and requiring an additional surgery by the two observers. Our study showed that good to very good inter-observer agreement is achievable in evaluating the pathological parameters of recurrence risk in endoscopically-removed pT1 CRC. In addition to HES slides, the detection of lymphovascular invasion and tumour budding can benefit with more reproducible immunohistochemical analyses.