Clinical outcome in pleomorphic lobular carcinoma: a case-control study with comparison to classic invasive lobular carcinoma.

Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma (PLC), a variant of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is described as an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis. Multiple studies show lower overall survival for patients with PLC than for patients with classic ILC (cILC). We compared the clinicopathologic characteristics of PLC with those of cILC. All cases with a diagnosis of ILC, Nottingham grades 2 or 3 that were diagnosed between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2010, were retrieved from pathology files in the institutional anatomic pathology database. The cases (N = 52) were reviewed to identify those meeting the criteria for PLC. An E-cadherin immunostain was used to confirm the lobular immunophenotype. Clinicopathologic data were assessed and analyzed. A control group (N = 103) of cILC, Nottingham grade 1, was selected, with 2 controls for each case, matched by age and year of diagnosis. PLC was associated more closely with in situ carcinoma (P = .03), and had lower progesterone receptor expression (P = .03) than cILC. Both disease-free survival and overall survival were similar between patients with PLC and matched cILC controls, and both depended on disease stage, tumor size, and lymph node status. PLC is similar to cILC in terms of patient survival and outcomes.

Analysis of NF-κB Pathway Proteins in Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma: Correlations with EBV Status and Clinical Outcome-A Children's Oncology Group Study.

Constitutively active nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is integral to the survival of Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells (H/RS) in Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL). To investigate NF-κB pathway proteins in pediatric HL, we utilized a tissue microarray compiled from 102 children enrolled in the Children's Oncology Group intermediate-risk clinical trial AHOD0031 (56 male, 78 Caucasian, median age 15y (range 1-20y), 85 nodular sclerosing subtype, 23 Epstein Barr virus (EBV) positive, 24 refractory/relapsed disease). We examined the intensity, localization, and pathway correlations of NF-κB pathway proteins (Rel-A/p65, Rel-B, c-Rel, NF-κB1, NF-κB2, IκB-α, IKK-α, IKK-ß, IKK-γ/NEMO, NIK, A20), as well as their associations with EBV status and clinical outcome. NF-κB pathway proteins were overexpressed in pediatric HL patients compared to controls. Patients with EBV-tumors, or with rapid early therapy response, had tightly coordinated regulation of NF-κB pathway proteins, whereas patients with EBV+ tumors, or slow early therapy response, had little coordinated NF-κB pathway regulation. High NIK expression was associated with a slow response to therapy and decreased EFS. Elevated Rel-B, NIK and the NF-κB inhibitor A20 were associated with decreased EFS in multivariate analysis. These studies suggest a pivotal role for the NF-κB pathway in therapy response and patient survival (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: ).

DDIT3 gene break-apart as a molecular marker for diagnosis of myxoid liposarcoma--assay validation and clinical experience.

Myxoid liposarcoma with or without a round cell component is the most common subtype of liposarcoma. The diagnosis of myxoid liposarcoma could be challenging with histology, as a variety of soft tissue tumors with myxoid change might mimic myxoid liposarcoma, especially on small biopsy tissues. Chromosomal translocations of t(12,16) (q13;p11) and t(12;22) (q13;q12), rendering gene fusions of DDIT3 (previously CHOP) with FUS and EWSR1, have been found to be characteristic of myxoid liposarcoma, and were identifiable in more than 95% cases. These genetic alterations, therefore, are ideal as molecular markers to facilitate the diagnosis of this type of tumor. DDIT3 (12q13) dual-color break-apart rearrangement probe for fluorescence in situ hybridization has been commercially available. However, its consistency with DDIT3-associated gene fusion and its clinical use, including sensitivity and specificity, have not been adequately evaluated. In this study, we assessed the locus specificity of the probe on metaphase, and then tested it on 8 cases of myxoid liposarcoma, 12 cases of other sarcomas, and 18 cases of tumors with myxoid differentiation. All 8 myxoid liposarcomas showed DDIT3 gene break-apart, whereas all 12 other sarcomas were negative. All the cases with DDIT3 break-apart also showed FUS-DDIT3 fusion by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, with 100% consistency. In addition, the FISH assay has been clinically applied on 18 myxoid tumors with promising outcome. In conclusion, FISH with DDIT3 break-apart probe is a highly sensitive and specific assay for detection of DDIT3-associated gene fusions, and therefore is a valuable adjunct in diagnosis or differential diagnosis of myxoid liposarcoma.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis: insights gained over 4 decades.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis is a rare lymphoproliferative disease involving predominantly the lung, and there is uncertainty about its relationship to lymphoma. It affects mainly middle-aged adults, although there is a wide age range, and men are affected almost twice as often as women. Multiple nodular, usually bilateral, infiltrates are seen radiographically, and extrapulmonary involvement, especially of skin and nervous system, occurs in more than one third of the patients. Mortality rates are high, and treatment modes are not well established. Morphologically, there is a nodular polymorphous mononuclear cell infiltrate with prominent vascular infiltration and often necrosis. Varying numbers of large, often atypical, CD20-positive B-lymphocytes are present within a background containing numerous CD3-positive small T lymphocytes and scattered admixed plasma cells and histiocytes. Evidence of Epstein-Barr virus infection can be shown in most cases by in-situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus RNA. The infiltrate is graded as 1 to 3 based on the proportion of large B cells. Morphologically, there is overlap in grades 2 and 3 with variants of large B-cell lymphoma, and many such cases show evidence of monoclonality by polymerase chain reaction. It is suggested that lymphoma (T-cell rich large B-cell or diffuse large B-cell) be diagnosed in addition to lymphomatoid granulomatosis in grades 2 and 3 to appropriately communicate the nature of the disease to clinicians.