Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in situ of the breast: clinicopathological review of 47 cases.

AIMS: Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in situ (PLCIS) of the breast is a distinctive entity, but its behaviour and management are unclear. The purpose of this study was to review a relatively large number of cases and to evaluate the risk of recurrence. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cases of PLCIS (n = 47) from a 12-year period were reviewed. The clinical, radiological and pathological findings were recorded. Immunohistochemistry for oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 was performed. Thirty-one patients had no concurrent breast cancer or past history of breast cancer, and six (19.4%) of these had local recurrence; all tumours (four invasive carcinoma and two PLCIS) were ipsilateral. Younger age at presentation was a risk factor for local recurrence: patients with recurrence had a mean age (range) of 52.5 years (44-59 years), versus 60.6 years (40-81 years) for those without (P = 0.03). Three of 31 patients were treated with radiation therapy (RT), and none of these developed local recurrence. PLCIS had an adverse ER/PR/HER2 molecular profile, with at least 41.2% of the cases overexpressing HER2. Moreover, at least 11.7% of the cases were triple-negative. CONCLUSIONS: This study included the largest number of patients who had no concurrent breast cancer or past history of breast cancer with the longest clinical follow-up, providing insights into management practices for PLCIS and the risk of recurrence.

Synuclein-γ (SNCG) protein expression is associated with poor outcome in endometrial adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Synuclein-γ (SNCG) is a marker for adverse and aggressive disease in breast cancer. In previous study, we found SNCG mRNA to be overexpressed in uterine serous carcinoma compared to uterine endometrioid adenocarcinoma. The aim of this study is to explore the prognostic value of SNCG in patients with endometrial cancer. METHODS: 279 endometrial cancer patients were retrieved from the archives. The tissue paraffin blocks were stained for SNCG antibody and its expression was correlated with clinicopathological prognostic factors. RESULTS: There was a positive association between SNCG(+) immunoexpression and tumor grade, tumor stage, type II carcinomas, deep myometrial invasion and lymphovascular invasion. A correlation between SNCG(+) and adverse outcomes, such as shorter overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS), was also detected. Following adjuvant therapy (radiation and chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone), we observed a difference in 5years DFS rate between SNCG(+) (41.6%) and SNCG(-) patients (59.5%). CONCLUSION: Overexpression of SNCG seemed to be a predictor biomarker for aggressive tumor behavior and adverse outcome in patients with endometrial cancer. Future exploration of SNCG as a potential therapeutic target for selected patients could be of interest.

Clinically aggressive primary solid pseudopapillary tumor of the ovary in a 45-year-old woman.

We report the first case of primary solid pseudopapillary tumor of the ovary with aggressive behavior and fatal outcome in a 45-year-old woman. The patient presented with weight loss, decrease of appetite, and abdominal bloating for the last several weeks. Computed tomography scan revealed an ovarian mass, omental caking, complex ascites, and 2 hepatic lesions. The pancreas was unremarkable. Grossly, the ovarian mass showed severe capsular adhesion, and the cut surface was cystic and solid. On histologic examination, the tumor was composed of diffuse solid pseudopapillary and pseudocystic patterns. The neoplastic cells were uniform and round with very dispersed chromatin. The cytoplasm was faintly pink. There was mild atypia, but the mitotic rate was as high as 62 per 50 high-power field, and the Ki-67 was elevated at 20%. The tumor exhibited severe necrosis. Numerous foci of lymphovascular invasion were also seen. The tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin (focal) and for ß-catenin (cytoplasmic and nuclear patterns). They were negative for chromogranin, synaptophysin, thyroglobulin, calcitonin, hepatocyte-paraffin 1, epithelial membrane antigen, calretinin, and α-inhibin. Electron microscopic study revealed nests of tumor cells with oval nuclei. The cytoplasm contained numerous pleomorphic mitochondria interspersed among short strands of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The tumor involved the fallopian tube, omentum, cul-de-sac, and abdominal wall. The pelvic washing was also positive for tumor cells. Despite chemotherapy, the patient's condition had worsened, and she died of her disease 8 months after the initial diagnosis. We discuss the differential diagnosis of this tumor and the hypothesis of its origin.

Female adnexal tumor of probable Wolffian origin (FATWO) with recurrence 3 years postsurgery.

This is the case report of a 38-year-old woman who presented with a mass of the right broad ligament that was diagnosed as a female adnexal tumor of probable Wollfian origin (FATWO). The patient was treated with a simple mass excision. Three years after the excision, the patient presented with uterine bleeding. A total abdominal hysterectomy was advised. Intraoperative histologic consultation showed a poorly differentiated tumor on the surface of the left ovary. After extensive immunohistochemistry analysis and after reviewing the histology slides from the primary tumor, the final diagnosis was concluded to be recurrent FATWO on the surface of the ovary. C-kit immunohistochemistry was found to be strongly positive. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of C-kit genes on exons 9, 11, 13, and 17 and of PDGFR gene on exons 12 and 18 showed no mutational changes. Owing to the limited options in treating recurrent disease and the lack of prognostic factors for recurrence or metastasis, the patient was started on 400 mg of imatinib mesylate therapy for 6 months. In addition, the patient is undergoing continuous follow-up by computed tomographic imaging every 6 months. As chemotherapy and radiation therapy for recurrent or metastatic FATWO are most often unsuccessful, a molecular targeted therapy, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitor, could be considered. However, collective data are needed from multiple centers to determine its effectiveness in these patients.

Gene expression profiles in stage I uterine serous carcinoma in comparison to grade 3 and grade 1 stage I endometrioid adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in the developed countries. Clinical studies have shown that early stage uterine serous carcinoma (USC) has outcomes similar to early stage high grade endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EAC-G3) than to early stage low grade endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EAC-G1). However, little is known about the origin of these different clinical outcomes. This study applied the whole genome expression profiling to explore the expression difference of stage I USC (n = 11) relative to stage I EAC-G3 (n = 11) and stage I EAC-G1 (n = 11), respectively. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: We found that the expression difference between USC and EAC-G3, as measured by the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), is consistently less than that found between USC and EAC-G1. Pathway enrichment analyses suggested that DEGs specific to USC vs. EAC-G3 are enriched for genes involved in signaling transduction, while DEGs specific to USC vs. EAC-G1 are enriched for genes involved in cell cycle. Gene expression differences for selected DEGs are confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR with a high validation rate. CONCLUSION: This data, although preliminary, indicates that stage I USC is genetically similar to stage I EAC-G3 compared to stage I EAC-G1. DEGs identified from this study might provide an insight in to the potential mechanisms that influence the clinical outcome differences between endometrial cancer subtypes. They might also have potential prognostic and therapeutic impacts on patients diagnosed with uterine cancer.