1.Colorectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation: diagnostic challenges of a rare case encountered in clinical practice
Evi ABADA ; Ifeoma C. ANAYA ; Othuke ABADA ; Anthony LEBBOS ; Rafic BEYDOUN
Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine 2022;56(2):97-102
Colorectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation (CAED) is a rare subtype of colonic adenocarcinoma characterized by increased α-fetoprotein (AFP) production and the expression of at least one enteroblastic marker including AFP, glypican 3 (GPC3), or Spalt like transcription factor 4 (SALL4). We report a case of a 26-year-old female who presented with low back pain and constipation which persisted despite supportive measures. Imaging revealed multiple liver lesions and enlarged retroperitoneal nodes. Tumor markers including AFP were markedly elevated. On biopsy, samples from the liver revealed infiltrating glands lined by columnar-type epithelium with mostly eosinophilic granular to focally clear cytoplasm. By immunohistochemistry, the tumor showed immunoreactivity with AFP, hepatocyte antigen, GPC3, SALL4, CDX2, SATB2, and cytokeratin 20. A colonoscopy performed subsequently revealed a mass in the sigmoid colon and biopsy of this mass revealed a similar histology as that seen in the liver. A diagnosis of CAED was made, following the results of gene expression profiling by the tumor with next-generation sequencing which identified pathogenic variants in MUTYH, TP53, and KDM6A genes and therefore supported its colonic origin. Cases such as this underscores the use of ancillary diagnostic techniques in arriving at the correct diagnosis in lesions with overlapping clinicopathologic characteristics.
2.A clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of primary and secondary breast angiosarcoma
Evi ABADA ; Hyejeong JANG ; Seongho KIM ; Rouba ALI-FEHMI ; Sudeshna BANDYOPADHYAY
Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine 2022;56(6):342-353
Background:
We aimed to study the clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical (IHC) (CD117, c-Myc, and p53) characteristics, and overall survival of primary and secondary breast angiosarcoma (BAS).
Methods:
This was a retrospective study of BAS cases diagnosed between 1997 and 2020 at our institution. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides were reviewed for tumor morphology, margin status, and lymph node metastasis. CD117, p53, D2-40, CD31, and c-Myc IHC stains were performed on 11 viable tissue blocks. Additional clinical information was obtained from the electronic medical records.
Results:
Seventeen patients with BAS were identified. Of these, five (29%) were primary and 12 (71%) were secondary BAS, respectively. The median age at diagnosis for primary BAS was 36 years. The median age at diagnosis for secondary BAS was 67 years. The median time to secondary BAS development following radiotherapy was 6.5 years (range, 2 to 12 years). There was no significant difference between primary and secondary BAS in several histopathologic parameters examined, including histologic grade, necrosis, mitotic count, lymph node metastasis, and positive tumor margins. There was also no difference in CD117, p53, D2-40, CD31, and c-Myc expression by IHC between primary and secondary BAS. During a median followup of 21 months, primary BAS had two (40%) reported deaths and secondary BAS had three (25%) reported deaths. However, this difference in survival between both groups was not statistically significant (hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.09 to 3.28; p = .450).
Conclusions
BAS is a rare and aggressive disease. No histologic, IHC (CD117, c-Myc, and p53), or survival differences were identified between primary and secondary BAS in this study.