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Purpose SETD2 is one of the key epigenetic regulatory genes involved in histone modifications. Its alterations were potentially oncogenic and commonly found in cancers. Interestingly, SETD2 is one of the most frequent mutated genes found exclusively in phyllodes tumor of the breast (PT). However, little has been done to further characterize SETD2 alterations in PT. Methods In this study, we examined the alterations of SETD2 gene and protein expression in a large cohort of PTs. Their correlations with SETD2 downstream target, H3K36me3 expression, and clinicopathologic features in PT were also assessed. Results SETD2 mutation was found in 15.9% of our cases and was mostly predicted to be damaging mutations. Interestingly, SETD2 mutations were associated with lower H3K36me3 expression, particularly those with damaging mutations (p = .041). Neither SETD2 mutations nor H3K36me3 expression was associated with PT grading and other clinicopathological features. By contrast, the SETD2 protein expression cannot reflect its mutation status and showed a different trend of clinicopathological correlations from H3K36me3. Conclusions Our findings may suggest a potential involvement of epigenetic regulation via SETD2 alterations and downstream H3K36me3 on PT development. SETD2 mutations may occur early in the pathogenic process of PTs and its loss per se may not be sufficient for progression to malignancy. Exclusive alterations of SETD2 in PT can be used as markers for the diagnosis of fibroepithelial lesions. The association of H3K36me3 with SETD2 mutations may also indicate the value of evaluation of H3K36me3 expression in the diagnosis of fibroepithelial lesions.

Phyllodes tumour (PT) of breast is a rare biphasic neoplasm. Recent next generation sequencing analyses had revealed novel genetic alterations in PT but lacked a further characterisation of their relationship to different PT features and outcome. Here, using targeted sequencing, we examined a panel of 90 recurrently altered or cancer related genes in 88 PT samples (including 49 benign, 25 borderline and 14 malignant PT). Twenty-three genes showed alterations in at least 8.0% of cases. Alterations were significantly higher with an increasing grade of PT (p=0.033), particularly for copy number alterations. The top ten alterations were TERT promoter (58.0%), MED12 (53.4%), RARA (22.8%), FLNA (19.3%), SETD2 (15.9%), SYNE1 (18.2%), PCLO (15.9%), KMT2D (14.3%), CDKN2A (15.9%) and DNAH11 (14.8%). Alterations in CDKN2A/B, EGFR, TP53, PIK3CA, PTEN and ARID1B (p≤0.039) were associated with a higher grade. Analysing alterations based on common pathways indicated a significant correlation of cell cycle pathway and epigenetic alterations with a higher PT grade (p=0.036 and 0.075 respectively). Interestingly, recurrences were not correlated with tumour grade, but related to the presence of RARA mutation (p=0.011) and the absence of alterations in epigenetic pathway (p=0.031). Analysis of synchronous pair of PT showed more differences in gene mutations with divergent MED12 mutation. By contrast, the recurrent samples showed similar genetic alterations as the primary tumours. In summary, we characterised genetic alterations in PTs of different grades and confirmed the recurrent alterations observed in earlier studies. In addition, current data implicated the roles of cell cycle, epigenetic and RARA changes in PT recurrence and tumourogenesis.

Aims Phyllodes tumours (PTs) of the breast are uncommon fibroepithelial neoplasms with the potential to recur and metastasise. Apart from histological grading, the expression of biological markers and its relationship with tumour behaviour have been topics of interest. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT pathway regulates diverse biological functions, and is one of the most frequently deregulated pathways in cancers. Little is known of PI3K-AKT pathway alteration in PT. We aim to investigate the alterations in different component of AKT pathway in PTs. Methods and results This study investigated the expression of four biological markers involved in this pathway (PTEN, INPP4B, PI3KCA and pAKT) in 134 PTs by the use of immunohistochemistry. According to an immunoscore incorporating staining intensity and proportion, low epithelial INPP4B expression (P = 0.045) was associated with recurrence. A trend of association was found for low epithelial PTEN expression with recurrence (P = 0.090). Interestingly, low epithelial INPP4B expression was also associated recurred tumours (P = 0.043). Stromal PI3KCA expression (P = 0.016) and pAKT expression (P = 0.006) were found to be correlated with increased histological grade, but an opposite trend was seen for stromal INPP4B expression (P = 0.018). In addition, epithelial and stromal PTEN expression, PI3KCA expression and pAKT expression showed strong correlations with each other (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions These findings indicate that alterations in AKT pathway activation may correlate with malignant transformation and recurrence in PT. Low epithelial INPP4B/PTEN expression is associated with shorter recurrence-free survival. These observations suggest that the pathway may play a crucial role in the biological behaviour and progression of PT, and assessing the expression of this pathway may be of value in diagnosis, grading, prognostication, and management.

Background Amyloid precursor protein (APP), best known for its association with Alzheimer disease, has recently been implicated in breast cancer progression. However, the precise mechanism involved remains unclear. Here, we investigated the role of APP proteolytic cleavage in breast cancer functions. Methods The presence of APP proteolytic cleavage products was examined in breast cancer cell lines. The functional roles of APP in breast cancer were studied in vitro and tumor xenograft model using siRNA. The effects of full length APP and the α-secretase cleaved ectodomain fragment, soluble APPα (sAPPα) were further investigated for their overexpression in breast cancers. The α-secretase involved was identified. The α-secretase expression together with APP was examined in clinical breast cancers. Results We showed that APP underwent proteolytic cleavage in breast cancer cells to generate sAPPα. The sAPPα and full length protein mediated breast cancer migration and proliferation, but in different functional extent. This proteolytic cleavage was mediated by ADAM10. Downregulation of APP and ADAM10 brought about similar functional effects. Overexpression of sAPPα reversed the effects of ADAM10 downregulation. Interestingly, in patients with non-luminal breast cancers, APP and ADAM10 expression correlated with each other and their co-expression was associated with the worst outcome. Conclusions These results demonstrated the contributory role of APP cleavage on its oncogenic roles in breast cancer. ADAM10 was the key α-secretase. APP and ADAM10 co-expression was associated with worse survival in non-luminal breast cancers. Targeting of APP or its processing by ADAM10 might be a promising treatment option in these cancers.

SETD2 is one of the key epigenetic regulatory genes involved in histone modifications. Its alterations were potentially oncogenic and commonly found in cancers. Interestingly, SETD2 is one of the most frequent mutated genes found exclusively in phyllodes tumor of the breast (PT). However, little has been done to further characterize SETD2 alterations in PT.In this study, we examined the alterations of SETD2 gene and protein expression in a large cohort of PTs. Their correlations with SETD2 downstream target, H3K36me3 expression, and clinicopathologic features in PT were also assessed.SETD2 mutation was found in 15.9% of our cases and was mostly predicted to be damaging mutations. Interestingly, SETD2 mutations were associated with lower H3K36me3 expression, particularly those with damaging mutations (p = .041). Neither SETD2 mutations nor H3K36me3 expression was associated with PT grading and other clinicopathological features. By contrast, the SETD2 protein expression cannot reflect its mutation status and showed a different trend of clinicopathological correlations from H3K36me3.Our findings may suggest a potential involvement of epigenetic regulation via SETD2 alterations and downstream H3K36me3 on PT development. SETD2 mutations may occur early in the pathogenic process of PTs and its loss per se may not be sufficient for progression to malignancy. Exclusive alterations of SETD2 in PT can be used as markers for the diagnosis of fibroepithelial lesions. The association of H3K36me3 with SETD2 mutations may also indicate the value of evaluation of H3K36me3 expression in the diagnosis of fibroepithelial lesions.

AimsIHC4 score, based on expression of four routine markers (oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and proliferation marker, Ki67), is a recently developed, cost-effective prognostic tool in breast cancer. Possibly, the score may be useful also in advanced diseases where only core needle biopsy (CNB) is available and neoadjuvant therapy. However, its studies on CNB are scant. This study examined whether IHC4 score assessment on CNB is comparable to that from whole section (WS).MethodsImmunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was performed for ER, PR, HER2 and Ki67 on 108 paired CNB and WS to evaluate IHC4 score (with follow-up range 1–230 months and 5 relapse/death). Concordance between the two was examined. Factors that affected the concordance were analysed. Additionally, IHC4 score was compared with Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI).ResultsThere was moderate concordance between IHC4 score on CNB and WS (all cases: κ=0.699, pConclusionOur results suggested that IHC4 score can be used on adequately sampled CNB. Its poor agreement with NPI highlights the independence of the two factors.

AimsIn breast cancer models, the functional roles of CD147 in proliferation, invasion and treatment resistance have been widely reported. However, there are only a few studies examining the clinicopathological correlation and prognostic relevance of CD147 in breast cancer, especially in relation to breast cancer molecular subtypes.MethodsIn this study, we analysed CD147 expression in a large cohort of breast cancers, correlating with clinicopathological features and the expression of a comprehensive panel of biomarkers in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-TNBC subsets. Its relationship with patients’ survival was also analysed.ResultsCD147 was expressed in 11.9%(140/1174) of all cases and in 23.8% (40/168) of TNBC. The expression was associated with tumour histological subtypes (p=0.01) and most commonly seen in carcinoma with medullary features (26.0%). CD147 expression correlated with high tumour grade, presence of necrosis and basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) subtype, high Ki67 and expression of some other basal markers and stem-like markers. CD147 expression was also associated with poor overall survival in chemotherapy treated patients with TNBC.ConclusionsCD147 is a putative marker in identifying TNBC or BLBC, and may be useful as a prognosis indicator for patients with TNBC or BLBC post chemotherapy.

PURPOSE Proline, glutamic acid, and leucine-rich protein 1 (PELP1), a novel nuclear receptor (NR) co-regulator, is highly expressed in breast cancer. We investigated its expression in breast cancer subtypes, in comparison with other breast markers as well as cancers from different sites. Its prognostic relevance with different subtypes and other NR expression was also examined in breast cancers. Methods Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on totally 1,944 cancers from six different organs. RESULTS PELP1 expression rate was the highest in breast cancers (70.5%) among different cancers. Compared to GATA3, mammaglobin and gross cystic disease fluid protein 15, PELP1 was less sensitive than GATA3 for luminal cancers, but was the most sensitive for non-luminal cancers. PELP1 has low expression rate (

Phyllodes tumor (PT) of the breast is a rare but clinically important fibroepithelial tumor with potential risks of recurrence and metastasis. Recent studies identified recurrent TERT promoter mutations in PTs. However, the clinical significance of this alteration has not been fully examined. Two hundred and seven PTs from two intuitions were included. All cases were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis for TERT expression. Analysis of TERT promoter mutations was further performed by Sanger sequencing targeting the hotspot mutation region on cases from one of the involved institutions. The expression of TERT was correlated with clinicopathologic features, mutation status and recurrence. There was an association of TERT expression and its promoter mutation. Both stromal TERT expression and its promoter mutation correlated with PT grading and older patient age. Recurrence free survival (RFS) of PT patients with high stromal TERT expression was shorter if the excision margin was positive. Our findings suggested a possible pathogenic role of TERT alteration in PT malignancy. Currently there is no consensus for re-excision for PT patients with positive surgical margin, particularly for low grade cases. Stromal TERT expression could be potentially useful to guide management patients with benign PTs.

Background The presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is associated with favorable prognosis. Recent evidence suggested that not only their density, but also the spatial organization as tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), play a key role in determining patient survival. Materials and methods In a cohort of 248 breast cancers, the clinicopathologic association and prognostic role of TLS was examined. Results Tertiary lymphoid structures were associated with higher tumor grade, apocrine phenotype, necrosis, extensive in situ component, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and high TIL. For biomarkers, TLS were associated with hormone receptors negativity, HER2 positivity, and c-kit expression. Tertiary lymphoid structures were significantly related to better disease-free survival (DFS) in HER2 positive (HER2+) breast cancers (log-rank = 4.054), which was not dependent on high TIL status. The combined TLS and TIL status was an independent favorable factor associated with DFS in those cases. Interestingly, tumor cell infiltration into the TLS was found in 41.9% of TLS positive cases. It was associated with LVI in HER2 negative (HER2-) TLS positive (particularly estrogen receptor positive [ER+] HER2-) cases. In the ER+ HER2- cases, tumor cell infiltration into TLS was also associated with increased pathologic nodal stage (pN) stage and nodal involvement. Conclusion Tertiary lymphoid structures showed a similar relationship with clinicopathologic features and biomarkers as TIL. The presence of TLS, irrespective of TIL level, could be an important favorable prognostic indicator in HER2+ breast cancer patients. Given the significance of TLS in promoting effective antitumor immunity, further understanding of its organization and induction may provide new opportunities to improve the current immunotherapy strategies. Implications for practice Despite recent interest on the clinical value of tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL), little was known on the clinical significance on their spatial organization as tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). Although TLS showed similar relationships with clinicopathologic features and biomarkers as TIL, the prognostic value of TLS, particularly in HER2 positive cancers, was independent of TIL. Moreover, tumor infiltration could be present in TLS which appears to be related to tumor invasion in HER2 negative cancers. Overall, the results demonstrated the additional value for TLS in HER2 cancer subtypes. Further investigations and its standardized evaluation will enhance its use as standard practice.

Clinical trials showing programmed death (PD)-1–PD-ligand 1 (L1) axis as a promising therapeutic target in melanoma and non-small cell lung cancers have made the pathway a focus of recent attention. However, the data regarding PD-L1/PD-1 in breast cancer are inconsistent. Given the heterogeneity of breast cancers, the clinical relevance of PD-L1 and PD-1 tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) may vary according to subtypes of breast cancer. We aim to investigate PD-L1 expression in a large cohort of breast cancers and analyze its clinico-pathological as well as outcome relationship according to molecular subtypes. Also, we evaluate the relationship of PD-1 TIL and PD-L1 expression with patients’ survival, particularly for breast cancers with high TIL. Immunohistochemical analysis of PD-L1 on tissue arrays for 1091 breast cancer patients and PD-1 TIL on 97 whole sections was performed. Associations of PD-L1 with luminal cancers (p

The underlying basis for cancer immune evasion is important for effective immunotherapy and prognosis in breast cancers. Human leucocyte antigens (HLA)-I comprising three classical antigens (HLA-A, -B and -C) is mandatory for anti-tumor immunity. Its loss occurred frequently in many cancers resulting in effective immune evasion. Most studies examined HLA-I as a whole. Alterations in specific locus could have different clinical ramifications. Hence, we evaluated the expression of the three HLA-I loci in a large cohort of breast cancers. Low expression of HLA-A, -B and -C were found in 71.1%, 66.3%, and 60.2% of the cases. Low and high expression in all loci was found in 48.3% and 17.9% of the cases respectively. The remaining showed high expression in one or two loci. Cases with all HLA high expression (all HLA high) was frequent in the ER-HER2- (27.4%) and ER-HER2+ (23.1%) cases and was associated with characteristic pathologic features related to these tumor (higher grade, necrosis, high tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL), pT stage, low hormonal receptor, high basal marker expression) (p ≤ 0.019). Interestingly, in HER2+ cancers, only cases with all HLA high and high TIL showed significantly better survival. In node positive cancers, concordant high HLA expression in primary tumors and nodal metastases was favorable prognostically (DFS: HR = 0.741, p

Aims Atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) of breast is increasingly diagnosed in core needle biopsy (CNB). As higher-grade lesions were found in the excision in a substantial proportion of ADH on CNB, factors predicting risk of subsequent upgrade are clinically significant. This study aims to investigate relevant histopathological factors in CNB that could predict diagnostic upgrade at excision. Methods and results One hundred and forty-three cases of CNB with paired subsequent excision were evaluated for multiple clinicopathological parameters related to CNB sampling, ADH morphology, calcification and other co-existing histological features, and which of these parameters were associated with diagnostic upgrade at subsequent excisions were determined. Forty-eight cases (34.3%) were upgraded to malignancy, including 15 invasive cancers and 33 ductal carcinomas in situ (DCIS). An increased tissue area occupied by ADH (P = 0.026), a higher number of ADH foci (P = 0.004), the presence of solid pattern (P = 0.037) and older age (P = 0.012) were positively associated with upgrade, while negative associations were found with the presence of micropapillary pattern (P = 0.025), co-existing columnar cell lesions (CCL) (P = 0.001) and the presence of calcifications (P = 0.009). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the number of ADH foci (HR = 2.810, P = 0.013) was an independent positive predictor, while co-existing CCL (HR = 0.391, P = 0.013) was an independent negative predictor for upgrade. Conclusions Patients with ADH in CNB showing the presence of co-existing CCL and a lower number of ADH foci have a lower risk of disease upgrade at excision, and are potential candidates for observation-only management.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) has been suggested to be the candidate gene for 8p11-12 amplification in breast cancer and its therapeutic/ prognostic value is explored. Most previous studies focused on FGFR1 gene amplification, which may not necessarily lead to protein expression. Therefore, analysis of protein level may have more clinical relevance. We evaluated FGFR1 expression in a large cohort of breast cancer by immunohistochemistry, correlated with the tumor clinic-pathologic features, biomarkers expression, and patient's survival. FGFR1 expression was associated mainly with luminal cancers, particularly luminal B subtype (23.5%; p < 0.001), and it also showed adverse prognostic impact on luminal A cancers. FGFR1 expression was associated with higher pN (p = 0.023), pT (p = 0.003) stages, lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.010), p-cadherin (p = 0.028), synaptophysin (p = 0.009) and SOX2 expression (p = 0.034) in luminal A cancers. FGFR1 expressing luminal A cancers showed a similar outcome as luminal B cancers. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated FGFR1 positive luminal A cancers to be an independently poor prognosticator for disease free survival in luminal cancers (hazard ratio = 3.341, p = 0.008). Thus FGFR1 could be useful in identifying the aggressive cases amongst heterogeneous luminal A cancers. Given the relevance of FGFR pathway in treatment resistance in luminal cancers, FGFR1 could be an important tumor biomarker and adverse prognostic factor potentially exploitable in the clinical management of luminal cancers.

Background: Amyloid precursor protein (APP), best known for its association with Alzheimer disease, has recently suggested in breast cancer progression. However, the precise mechanism involved remains unclear. Here, we investigated the role of APP proteolytic cleavage in breast cancer functions. Methods: The presence of APP proteolytic cleavage products was examined in breast cancer cell lines. The functional roles of APP in breast cancer were studied in vitro and tumor xenograft model by siRNA interference. The effects of full length APP and the α-secretase cleaved ectodomain fragment, soluble APPα (sAPPα) were further investigated for their overexpression in breast cancers. The α-secretase involved was identified. The α-secretase expression together with APP was examined in clinical breast cancer. Results: We showed that APP underwent proteolytic cleavage in breast cancer cells to generate sAPPα. The sAPPα showed similar functional effects as the full length protein in breast cancer migration and proliferation. This proteolytic cleavage was mediated by ADAM10. Downregulation of APP and ADAM10 brought about similar functional effects. Overexpression of sAPPα could reverse the effects of ADAM10 downregulation. Interestingly, in patients with non-luminal breast cancer, APP and ADAM10 expression correlated with each other and their co-expression correlated with the worst outcome. Conclusions: These results indicated that the significance of APP cleavage on its oncogenic roles in breast cancer. ADAM10 demonstrated to be the key α-secretase. APP and ADAM10 co-expression associated with worse survival in non-luminal breast cancers. Targeting of APP or its processing by ADAM10 might be a promising treatment in these cancers. Funding: This study was supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund of Hong Kong (02130746). Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no conflict of interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by Joint Chinese University of Hong Kong-New Territories East Cluster clinical research ethics committee.

BackgroundMammary phyllodes tumours (PT) are rare biphasic neoplasms but have important clinical significance. Both epithelial and stromal components participate in PT development. Despite a number of studies on stromal c-kit in PT, little is known about the role of its epithelial expression.ObjectiveTo further evaluate the stromal and epithelial expression of c-kit in a cohort of patients with PT.Method and resultsExpression of c-kit in both epithelial and stromal components was examined and correlated with histological features in PT. Stromal c-kit expression was associated positively with stromal cellularity (median expression=10.0, 30.0 and 50.0 from mild to severe cellularity; p=0.019). Conversely, a significant negative trend between epithelial c-kit expression with stromal pleomorphism (median expression=55.0, 30.0 and 2.5 from mild to severe pleomorphism; p=0.043) and mitosis (median expression=70.0 and 20.0 for low and high mitosis respectively; p=0.003); and a trend of negative correlation with increased PT grade was found. Despite these reverse associations, epithelial and stromal c-kit expressions were positively correlated with each other. Notably, the correlation of stromal c-kit expression with malignant histological features appeared to be stronger in cases with low epithelial c-kit expression but not in those with high epithelial c-kit expression.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the association of epithelial c-kit expression with stromal histological features and stromal c-kit. Interestingly, epithelial c-kit expression affected the strength of the correlation of stromal c-kit with these histological features. These findings provide further evidence of the interaction between the epithelial and stromal components in PT.

Despite numerous studies on the utility of GATA-3 as breast cancer marker, its comparison with other breast markers, its concordance between primary and metastatic tumors and its expression in primary cancers from sites with frequent breast metastases remains unclear. To address these questions, totally 993 invasive breast cancers (IBC), 254 paired nodal metastases, 23 distant metastases, and 208 lung carcinomas were included. GATA-3 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and compared to other breast markers [gross cystic disease fluid protein 15 (GCDFP-15) and mammaglobin (MGB)]. GATA-3 was expressed in 82.5% of IBC, predominantly in luminal (93.9%), and lower in non-luminal cancers [59.6% of HER2 overexpressing (HER2-OE) and 38.1% of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes]. GATA-3 identified more IBC than GCDFP-15 (23.9%) and MGB (46.6%). However, MGB showed a comparable sensitivity for non-luminal cancers to GATA-3. Combining MGB and GATA-3 improved sensitivity for both HER2-OE (80.8%) and TNBC cases (55.4%). GATA-3 showed a high sensitivity for nodal metastases and distant metastases, with good concordance with primary tumors. GATA-3 was expressed in 1.0% of lung carcinomas, with sensitivity and specificity of 82.5 and 99.0% in differentiating IBC and lung carcinoma. GATA-3 expression was the highest in luminal breast carcinomas, and showed higher sensitivity than GCDFP-15 and MGB. However, in the poorly differentiated IBC, its utility was still limited. One should be aware of the possible GATA-3 expression in lung carcinomas.

The human placenta is a dynamic and heterogeneous organ critical in the establishment of the fetomaternal interface and the maintenance of gestational well-being. It is also the major source of cell-free fetal nucleic acids in the maternal circulation. Placental dysfunction contributes to significant complications, such as preeclampsia, a potentially lethal hypertensive disorder during pregnancy. Previous studies have identified significant changes in the expression profiles of preeclamptic placentas using whole-tissue analysis. Moreover, studies have shown increased levels of targeted RNA transcripts, overall and placental contributions in maternal cell-free nucleic acids during pregnancy progression and gestational complications, but it remains infeasible to noninvasively delineate placental cellular dynamics and dysfunction at the cellular level using maternal cell-free nucleic acid analysis. In this study, we addressed this issue by first dissecting the cellular heterogeneity of the human placenta and defined individual cell-type–specific gene signatures by analyzing more than 24,000 nonmarker selected cells from full-term and early preeclamptic placentas using large-scale microfluidic single-cell transcriptomic technology. Our dataset identified diverse cellular subtypes in the human placenta and enabled reconstruction of the trophoblast differentiation trajectory. Through integrative analysis with maternal plasma cell-free RNA, we resolved the longitudinal cellular dynamics of hematopoietic and placental cells in pregnancy progression. Furthermore, we were able to noninvasively uncover the cellular dysfunction of extravillous trophoblasts in early preeclamptic placentas. Our work showed the potential of integrating transcriptomic information derived from single cells into the interpretation of cell-free plasma RNA, enabling the noninvasive elucidation of cellular dynamics in complex pathological conditions.

Immune checkpoint blockades are currently actively investigated in invasive breast cancers. Given the complexity of immune regulation, multiple inhibitory molecules within the immune checkpoint framework would be involved in tumor immune escape. Evaluation of the components within the framework is a prerequisite for not only identification of additional treatment targets and optimization of immunotherapeutic strategies but also understanding the prognostic value of these molecules. We examined a recently described component, herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM), in a large cohort of invasive breast cancers using immunohistochemistry, and evaluated its clinical relevance. HVEM expression was associated with aggressive tumor features, namely high grade (p

Aims Many immunohistochemical markers have been studied for differentiating papillary lesions. However, their differentiating power has not been evaluated comprehensively. Additionally, assessment of some markers will require the difficult task of identifying different cell types. In the current study, we aimed to devise a simple papillary panel which can aid in diagnosis irrespective of architectural pattern and cell type differentiation. Methods and results Immunohistochemical analysis of papillary lesions using myoepithelial markers [p63 and smooth muscle actin (SMA)], high molecular weight cytokeratins (HMWCKs: CK5, CK5/6, CK14 and 34βE12), hormone receptors (ER and PR) and neuroendocrine markers (chromogranin and synaptophysin) was performed. Among them, neuroendocrine markers showed high specificity but low sensitivity. HMWCK specificity was better than that for myoepithelial markers. Homogeneous staining pattern for hormonal receptors rather than their percentage positivity was more effective in identifying malignant lesions. Negative staining for two or more of HMWCKs, namely CK5/6, CK14 and 34βE12, achieved the best overall specificity and sensitivity of 87.8% and 94.1%, respectively, irrespective of the architecture. Their discriminatory power was validated with an independent cohort of core needle biopsies. Conclusions A marker panel with HMWCKs could be used in differentiating papillary lesions irrespective of architectural pattern or cell type differentiation.

Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is the breast cancer subtype defined by gene profiling and generates keen clinical interest. Immunohistochemical panels using basal cytokeratins and epidermal growth factor receptor are widely adopted for its identification. Nonetheless, there are concerns about the risk for missing some true BLBCs. Both P-cadherin and vimentin have been proposed as BLBC markers, but their usefulness for BLBC classification has not been well documented. In this study, we evaluated by immunohistochemistry their expression in a large cohort of breast carcinoma. Cancers expressing vimentin or P-cadherin showed BLBC-related morphological features (high grade, presence of necrosis, and lymphocytic infiltration; P < .001 for all except P = .006 for vimentin with lymphocytic infiltration) and immunohistochemical profile (P < .001 for all markers tested except P = .007 for vimentin with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2). Concordantly, they were significantly associated with BLBC (P < .001 for both). Nonetheless, they did not appear to be good stand-alone BLBC markers. Compared with the commonly used reference panel, the specificity (95.9%) and sensitivity (43.1%) of coexpression of vimentin and P-cadherin were better than most single markers or their combinations tested. Moreover, their coexpression was significantly associated with basal features in non-BLBCs and worse disease-free survival in triple-negative breast cancers (hazard ratio, 2.232; P = .027). This raised the possibility that the vimentin and P-cadherin combination can be used to identify BLBC especially those that were missed by the commonly used basal cytokeratins and epidermal growth factor receptor panel. Together, P-cadherin and vimentin could be adjunctive to the commonly used immunohistochemical surrogates for BLBC identification.

Aims To evaluate thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) expression in a large cohort of invasive breast carcinomas (IBCs) using two commercially available monoclonal antibody clones (8G7G3/1 and SPT24). Methods and results Nuclear and cytoplasmic TTF-1 expression was evaluated in 1132 primary IBCs and 208 primary pulmonary carcinomas using tissue microarray (TMA) sections. TTF-1 nuclear expression was detected in one of 1132 (0.09%) IBCs by 8G7G3/1. In pulmonary carcinoma, TTF-1 expression was detected in 149 (71.6%) and 147 (70.6%) cases by 8G7G3/1 and SPT24, respectively, with no significant difference being seen between the two clones (P = 0.839), and there was good consistency between these two antibodies in differentiating breast and pulmonary carcinomas (kappa value 0.905; P

Carcino-embryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6), one of the members of human carcino-embryonic antigens, is a multifunctional regulatory protein involved in various cellular processes in cancers. Its role in malignant transformation and the clinical significance has been extensively studied in colonic and pancreatic cancers. However, relatively few studies have been done on breast cancers. In the current study, CEACAM6 expression in two independent cohorts of invasive breast cancers were evaluated immunohistochemically and correlated with clinico-pathological features, biomarker profiles and patient survival. In the primary cohort, CEACAM6 expression was detected in 37.1 % (312/840) of primary invasive cancers. It was positively correlated with HER2 (p < 0.001). Concordantly, HER2-OE subtype showed the highest CEACAM6 expression (62.7 %) among all molecular subtypes; whereas, other subtypes also showed substantial CEACAM6 expression (21.8–37.5 %). Interestingly, a significantly worse overall survival was found in high pN stage HER2 positive cancers with CEACAM6 positivity (log-rank = 4.452, p = 0.035) and this could be validated in an independent cohort. Additionally, HER2 signaling was found to induce SMAD3 phosphorylation and CEACAM6 expression in a cell line model. Likewise, in the primary tumors, a positive association was found between HER2 and SMAD3 phosphorylation in CEACAM6 positive cancers (p = 0.012). Overall, CEACAM6 was widely expressed in different molecular subtypes, but highest and significantly in HER2-OE breast cancer. Within this group, CEACAM6 was associated with adverse high nodal stage patient outcome. Given the wide expression of CEACAM6 in all breast cancers, its roles as prognostic marker and therapeutic target warrant further evaluation.

The significance of chemokines in cancer biology has been widely recognized in recent years. CX3CL1 is a unique subclass of chemokine with complex functions, including recruitment of anti-tumor leukocytes and promoting cancer survival, thus affecting cancer progression in both the directions. It is not clear how these different functions interact in breast cancers. This is further complicated by the heterogeneity of breast cancer, and differential association of CX3CL1 with different subgroups could be present. There is only limited knowledge of CX3CL1 expression profile, its relationship with different biological features, subtypes, and outcomes in breast cancers. In this study, CX3CL1 expression was examined in a large cohort of breast cancers by immunohistochemistry and its association with clinicopathological factors, biomarker expression, and impact on patients' survival was assessed. High CX3CL1 expression was detected in 33.3 % (252/757) of primary invasive cancers. In line with its chemo-attractant function, CX3CL1 expression correlated positively with increased tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) (p = 0.005). In addition, CX3CL1 also correlated positively with adverse features in breast cancers, including lymph node involvement (p = 0.007), high Ki67 (p = 0.002), α-B crystallin expression (p = 0.008), and luminal B (worse prognosis luminal cancers) subtype (p = 0.024). Consistently, breast cancers with high expression of CX3CL1 were found to have a poorer overall survival (χ(2) = 4.797, p = 0.029). Interestingly, the adverse effect of CX3CL1 on outcome appeared to be more prominent in cancers with low TIL. These findings indicated that CX3CL1 could also have a pro-tumor role in breast cancer, despite its previously suggested role in enhancing anti-tumor immunity. The results highlighted the complicated functions of CX3CL1 in breast carcinogenesis. Further studies are needed to clarify the relative contribution of these anti- and pro-tumor functions in order to understand the true prognostic and potential therapeutic values of CX3CL1.

Immunohistochemical analysis of gross cystic disease fluid protein-15 (GCDFP-15) and mammaglobin (MGB) is frequently used in routine practice for assessment of metastases or regional recurrences of breast origin. Breast cancer is highly heterogeneous. Expression of these 2 markers in various breast cancer subtypes has not been well studied. In addition, the usefulness of these two markers in combination in detecting breast origin has not been explored. In this study, a large cohort of breast cancers was evaluated for GCDFP-15 and MGB expression, both individually and combined. Their expression was correlated with cancer subtypes, other biomarkers and clinicopathologic parameters. A higher sensitivity for MGB (42.3%) than GCDFP-15 (31.6%) in detecting cancers of breast origin was observed. Combining both increased the sensitivity further, both for primary tumor (53.0%) and for nodal metastases (69.0%). GCDFP-15 was associated significantly with a breast cancer profile of good prognosis tumors, including lower grade (P < .001), pN (P = .029) and Ki-67 (P < .001) as well as negative basal markers expression (P = .043, .009, and .049 for c-Kit, CK5/6 and epidermal growth factor receptor, respectively) and, thus, may not be sensitive for detection of poor prognosis tumors. MGB has the highest expression in HER2-overexpressing cancers (56.6%), and may be a potentially useful marker for this subtype. Nonetheless, both markers showed low expression in the basal like (BLBC) subtype (11.9% and 21.4% for GCDFP-15 and MGB respectively), therefore, the detection of BLBC remains problematic. Negative results need to be interpreted with caution, and correlation with other clinical findings may be required to exclude the possibility of metastatic BLBC.

Fibrotic focus (FF) has been observed in breast cancers and is suggested to be an important prognostic marker. However, most of these observations were reported by the same group of investigators with similar sample cohort. The relationship of FF and molecular subtypes as well as its associated prognosis has not been elucidated. In this study, 450 cases of breast carcinomas were evaluated for the presence of FF and its association with clinicopathologic parameters and biomarkers. FF was found in 18.7 % of all consecutive cases. FF was associated positively with infiltrative margins (p = 0.03) but negatively with extensive in situ component (p

AimsThe probabilistic approach is widely adopted for breast fine needle aspiration cytology. However, a definite cytological diagnosis is not always possible for C3 (atypia) cases, which poses a management dilemma as this represents a mixed category of benign and malignant cases. It would be beneficial to be able to predict malignancy based on specific cytological features in C3 aspirates.MethodsA comprehensive panel of cytological features (including quantitative, cytomorphological and background features) in a large cohort of C3 breast aspirates with subsequent histological excisions was evaluated to identify relevant morphological criteria predicting the risk of subsequent malignancy.ResultsA total of 229 C3 specimens with histological follow-up were included. Malignant outcome was found in 30.1% of specimens and the majority were invasive cancers. Features that showed a significant association with malignant outcome included older age (p=0.001), lower percentage of epithelial cell clusters and high percentage of single cells (p=0.002), cribriform architecture in cell clusters (p=0.034), presence of intracellular mucin (p=0.027), increased cell clusters without myoepithelial cells (p=0.048), diminished fibromyxoid stromal fragments (p=0.001), reduced bipolar nuclei (p=0.021) and the presence of necrosis (p=0.023). Except for the percentages of single cells and cell clusters without myoepithelial cells, all other features were shown to be independent risk predictors in multivariate analysis.ConclusionsC3 aspirates were associated with a significant probability of histological malignancy. Certain quantitative, cytomorphological and background features were potentially helpful in predicting the risk of a malignant outcome. The prediction could be clinically useful in the management of C3 cases.

Intratumoral heterogeneity presents challenges in the management of cancer. To gain deeper insight in intratumoral heterogeneity at different levels and tumor sites for common biomarkers in breast cancers, this report examines seven cases of invasive breast cancer with multiple axillary nodal metastases and/or recurrences for immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, human epidermal growth receptor 2, and Ki67 on all tissue blocks in both primary and metastatic tumors.

Papillary lesions of the breast include a broad spectrum of lesions, ranging from benign papilloma, papilloma with atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to papillary carcinoma. The accurate diagnosis of mammary papillary lesions is a challenge for pathologists, owing to the overlapping features among these lesions. In this review, some of the diagnostic criteria of papillary lesions are discussed, with special emphasis on some key morphological features, namely fibrovascular cores, epithelial proliferation in a solid pattern, intraductal papilloma complicated by ADH or DCIS, and invasion and its mimics. The roles of immunohistochemistry, and the interpretation of myoepithelial cell markers, hormone receptors, and high molecular weight cytokeratin, are addressed. Finally, novel biomarkers and genetic aberrations in papillary lesions are summarized.

The important role of hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2), an isozyme responsible for hyaluronan synthesis, in cancer has been increasingly recognised. However, only a few studies with inconsistent results have been reported in breast cancers. With a large cohort, we aim to determine the clinical significance of HAS2 in breast cancers.We examined HAS2 expression in 1142 breast cancers using immunohistochemistry.HAS2 was associated with both prognostically favourable (androgen receptor (AR), p0.001) and unfavourable (basal and epithelial mesenchymal transition markers, p≤0.039) biomarkers. In addition, HAS2 showed differential associations with various features and outcome between AR+ and AR- subgroups. HAS2+AR- breast cancers showed significantly worse outcome than other subgroups, and HAS2+AR- subgroup was an independent adverse prognostic factor for disease-free survival (HR 1.309, p=0.046). Interestingly, HAS2 was associated with many poor prognostic features (including higher grade, lymphovascular invasion, basal-like breast cancer subtype, high Ki67 and basal marker expression) only in AR-, but not AR+ breast cancers.HAS2 has been proposed to be a target for therapeutic intervention in cancer. Our findings suggested a possible antagonistic role of AR pathway on HAS2 function. It will be interesting to further investigate their precise interaction, which may have important implication in HAS2 targeting.

Columnar cell lesions of the breast include columnar cell changes without atypia and columnar cell changes with atypia. The latter frequently coexist and share molecular changes with low-grade carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma, suggesting that columnar cell changes may be precursors to progression of low-grade advanced lesions. In this study, we assessed chromosomal aberrations at 16q, hallmark for low-grade lesions, in columnar cell changes with or without atypia and their adjacent carcinoma in situ by fluorescent in situ hybridization using 3 region-specific probes spanning the entire chromosomal arm. The results were correlated with the histomorphological features of the corresponding lesions. Forty-four percent of low-grade carcinoma in situ and 31% of high-grade carcinoma in situ were associated with columnar cell changes with atypia, suggesting a link between columnar cell changes with atypia and low-grade carcinoma in situ. For the genetic aberrations, heterozygous deletion of 16q was present in 56% of low-grade carcinoma in situ but only in 19% of high-grade carcinoma in situ. Conversely, aneuploidy was found mostly in high-grade carcinoma in situ (88%). Twenty percent of columnar cell changes with atypia but none of the columnar cell changes without atypia showed heterozygous deletion of 16q. Interestingly, the same changes in 16q were observed in the columnar cell changes and their associated low-grade carcinoma in situ lesions. These findings demonstrated a genetic commonality between columnar cell changes with atypia and low-grade carcinoma in situ and substantiated the precursor role of columnar cell changes with atypia for low-grade carcinoma in situ but not high-grade carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Cumulative evidence has demonstrated the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC) in breast cancer and its putative role in cancer progression. Nonetheless, the clinical significance of CSC in breast cancer remains elusive. The underlying reasons could be due to the heterogeneity of breast cancer subtypes as well as different markers used to define breast CSC. In this study, three widely used markers (aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)1+ and CD24-CD44+) were used to define two populations of CSC in a large cohort of breast cancers. The expressions of these markers were correlated with different clinicopathological features and the molecular subtypes. ALDH1+ breast cancers were associated with basal-like and HER2-overexpressing subtypes and the characteristics histologic features were related to these two subtypes. On the other hand, CD24-CD44+ breast cancers were associated positively with the presence of extensive in situ component, the absence of lymph node involvement, and basal markers, but negatively with HER2. CD24-CD44+ breast cancers were also positively associated with luminal B cancers. As the expression of CSC markers varied among different molecular subtypes and different clinicopathological features, it appeared that each CSC population could have distinct clinical values in different subgroups of breast cancers. For improved prognostication with CSC, combining the analysis of CSC markers would be required. Within the luminal cancers, CSC appeared to identify cancers with poor outcome. The presence of CSC populations was associated with ER-PR+ cancers and tumors expressing basal markers. Basal marker expression can complement with CSC for improved indicator for poor prognosis in luminal breast cancers. For the first time, the possible contribution of CSC to these aggressive luminal cancers was demonstrated. The association of basal features and CSC in luminal cancers also raised the possibility that luminal cancer cells may acquire basal phenotype and CSC properties together during their progression.

Combined B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) and Ki67 expression for breast cancer prognostication has been proposed recently. However, the combinatorial relationship with patient outcome, clinico-pathologic features, and various biomarkers has not been fully explored. Bcl2 and Ki67 expression were examined in a large cohort of breast cancers. Differential Bcl2 and Ki67 combinatorial analysis, particularly in luminal cancers, were evaluated with respect to the clinico-pathologic features, biomarkers profile and outcome. Combined Bcl2/Ki67 phenotypes classified by Bcl2 and Ki67 cutoffs showed a better correlation with outcome. Multivariate analysis revealed this to be an independent prognostic factor in luminal cancers. Both Ki67 and Bcl2 contributed to the prognostic implications of different subgroups defined by Bcl2/Ki67 combination phenotypes with clinico-pathologic features and biomarkers profile. Ki67low/Bcl2high cases showed better DFS (HR = 2.17, P = 0.015) and OS (HR = 3.217, P = 0.015) compared to Ki67high/Bcl2low cases. Interestingly, Ki67low/Bcl2high cases also showed better outcome than other phenotypes in grade 2 cancers (log-rank = 4.844, P = 0.028) and TNM stage 2 cancers (log-rank = 8.161, P = 0.004). This classification by Bcl2/Ki67 combination phenotypes, together with PR expression, can also refine luminal A cancers prognostication. Not all PR low luminal A cases had poorer outcome compared to the PR high luminal A cases; poor prognosis was only limited to those with also low Bcl2 (log-rank = 23.568, P < 0.001 compared to PR high Bcl2 high cases). The combined Ki67/Bcl2 phenotyping was useful in luminal cancers prognostication. It also refined prognostication in intermediate groups (grade 2 and stage 2 cancers) of luminal cancers; and aided in further classification of luminal A cancers.

Aims MicroRNAs (miRs) have been shown to play important roles in tumour progression. Their expression pattern can be useful for cancer classification. However, little is known about miRs in mammary phyllodes tumours (PT). Methods and results In this study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based miR profiling was performed in a small PT cohort to identify deregulated miRs in malignant PT. The purported roles and targets of these miRs were further validated. Unsupervised clustering of miR expression profiling segregated PT into different grades, implicating the miR profile in PT classification. Among the deregulated miRs, miR-21, miR-335 and miR-155 were validated to be higher in malignant than in lower-grade PT in the independent cohort by quantitative PCR (qPCR) (P ≤ 0.032). Their expression correlated with some of the malignant histological features, including high stromal cellularity, nuclear pleomorphism and mitosis. Subsequent analysis of their downstream proteins, namely PTEN for miR-21/miR-155 and Rb for miR-335, also showed an independent significant negative association between miR and protein expression. Conclusions Differential expression of miRs in PT could be useful in diagnosis and grading of PT. Their deregulated expression, together with the altered downstream targets, implicated their active involvement in PT malignant transformation.

Recent data have shown anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) to be a novel oncogene overexpressed in luminal breast cancers. However, many studies only focused on its relationship with treatment resistance, and the clinical relevance of AGR2 has not been widely evaluated. AGR2 expression in a cohort of breast cancer was correlated with the clinicopathologic features, biomarker expression, and patient survival. AGR2 expression correlated with lower grade (p = 0.002) and absence of necrosis (p = 0.001) and was most highly expressed in luminal cancers (p

Aims To evaluate the prognostic significance of GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA-3), gross cystic disease fluid protein-15 (GCDFP-15) and mammaglobin (MGB) in invasive breast carcinomas (IBCs). Methods and results GATA-3, GCDFP-15 and MGB were expressed in 37.9% (370/976), 26.0% (254/978) and 35.3% (348/986) of this cohort of 1017 IBCs, respectively. GCDFP-15 was an independent favourable prognostic factor in all cases [disease-free survival (DFS), hazard ratio (HR) 0.587, P = 0.049; overall survival (OS), HR 0.512, P = 0.049], as well as in oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative (DFS, HR 0.353, P = 0.012; OS, HR 0.310, P = 0.017) and HER2-positive (DFS, HR 0.279, P = 0.036; OS, HR 0.235, P = 0.050) cases; it also refined the prognostication of molecular apocrine cancers. GATA-3 and MGB did not show any prognostic significance. Conclusions The commonly used breast carcinoma biomarkers vary in their prognostic implications. GCDFP-15 independently indicated a favourable prognosis, especially in ER-negative, HER2-positive and molecular apocrine cancers. GATA-3 and MGB were not associated with outcome.

Histologic grade, TNM stage, and Nottingham Prognostic Index are traditional prognostic tools for breast cancer. “IHC-molecular” classification of breast cancer can also identify patients at different recurrence risks and provides insight into cancer therapy. However, cancers in each group are heterogeneous. A model based on the comprehensive analysis of morphologic features and molecular subtype was constructed to predict recurrence and refine these traditional prognostic tools. Morphologic features including histologic grade, fibrotic focus, extensive intraductal component, lymphocytic infiltrate, lymphovascular invasion, tumor necrosis, tumor margin and TNM stage, and molecular subtypes approximated by immunohistochemistry were analyzed in 633 patients with invasive breast carcinoma (excluding those with HER2 targeted therapy). Significant independent predictors for recurrence included: high histologic grade (p = 0.004), presence of lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.004), fibrotic focus (p = 0.020), mild lymphocytic infiltrate (p = 0.013), high TNM stage (p

Androgen receptor (AR), a nuclear steroid hormone receptor, is differentially expressed in breast cancer subgroups with distinct clinical implications. To investigate the clinical significance of AR in breast cancers more precisely, the expression of AR in a large cohort of breast cancer was correlated with clinicopathological features, biomarker expression, and patients’ survival according to different molecular groupings in this study. Higher AR expression was found in ER+ (57.8 %) than in ER− (24.7 %) cancers. In the ER+ cancers, AR expression was associated with favorable clinicopathological features, including lower grade (p

The value for lymphocytic infiltration (LI) has been increasingly recognized for tumor assessment. In breast cancer, however, the overall significance of LI remains poorly defined, probably due to its heterogeneity. A large cohort of breast cancer was evaluated for the degree of LI and its association with traditional pathologic factors, biomarker expression, and cancer subtypes. The number of CD8 cytotoxic effector and FoxP3 regulatory T cell (Treg) was evaluated in those cases with high LI. High LI was associated with negative ER and PR but positive HER2 and EGFR expression (p < 0.001 for all). In ER-positive cancers, high LI was associated with poor prognostic features including higher grade, the presence of necrosis, and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (p = 0.007 for LVI and

Aims Columnar cell lesions are known as a link between normal breast and low grade neoplastic lesions in female, but have not been established in the male breast. This study evaluated the presence of ducts showing columnar cell-like features in the male breast. Methods Seventy-one consecutive surgical resections from men (6 invasive breast carcinoma of grade 3, 1 atypical ductal hyperplasia and 64 other lesions) were reviewed to identify foci of dilated ducts with columnar epithelial cells, and their morphological features including apical snouts, intraluminal secretions and calcifications were assessed. The expression of CK5/6 and estrogen receptor (ER) was evaluated immunohistochemically. Clinicopathological features including patients’ age, histological diagnosis and gynaecomastoid hyperplasia were documented. Results Ducts showing columnar cell-like features were identified in 39 cases, morphologically as distended ducts with round or undulating outline. There was an outer layer of myoepithelial cells and an inner layer of columnar luminal cells showing apical snouts, but without intraluminal secretions or calcifications. Immunohistochemically, these columnar epithelial cells were negative for CK5/6 in 38/39 cases and all were ER heterogeneously positive. These changes were associated with older age, but their incidence did not differ whether they were associated with invasive breast carcinoma, atypical ductal hyperplasia and other lesions. Conclusions In the male breast, there is an entity sharing morphological features and immunohistochemical profile of columnar cell lesions.

A 33-year-old Chinese female was admitted to a local hospital with a 20-day history of a painful lump in her right breast. Breast ultrasonography and mammography revealed a 2-cm irregular solid lesion in the breast. Previous exposure to radioactive or chemical substances and a history of extremity oedema were denied. A diagnosis of invasive carcinoma was made based on intraoperative frozen sections, and the patient underwent a right modified radical mastectomy in June 2009. A pathological examination revealed a high-grade invasive carcinoma with negative margins and axillary lymph nodes. The patient rejected postoperative adjuvant therapy. In February 2010 (8 months following the operation), the patient returned to the same hospital with a rapidly growing nodule at the original surgical site, measuring 1.5×0.8 cm. She subsequently underwent a lumpectomy, and a histological diagnosis of haemangioma was rendered. Unfortunately, a new mass measuring 1×0.8 cm emerged along the surgical scar 6 months later. The patient underwent a new lumpectomy with wider margins. Our department received the consultation slides from the peripheral hospital. Microscopy of the third lesion revealed an ill-defined tumour infiltrating the adipose tissue and dermis. The neoplasm was composed of predominantly solid areas with spindle cell morphology showing marked cytological atypia (figure 1 …

AIM: To investigate whether the clinicopathologic features of infantile hemangioendothelioma (IHE) of the liver in a Chinese population are similar to the features observed in other races. METHODS: The clinical data, radiological findings, histopathological changes and outcome of 12 cases of IHE diagnosed by the Department of Pathology, West China Hospital over the last 10 years were analyzed retrospectively. Immunohistochemical studies were carried out using antibodies against CD31, CD34, Factor VIII, cytokeratin 8 and cytokeratin 18. RESULTS: The 12 patients were aged from fetal to 5 years (three males and nine females). The tumor was presented with different clinical manifestations, mainly as an asymptomatic, palpable, upper abdominal mass, except for the two fetuses who were detected antenatally by ultrasound. In one patient, this presentation was accompanied by an initial severe pneumothorax. No symptoms of congestive heart failure were present and neither congenital abnormalities nor vascular tumors in the skin or other organs were found. Laboratory abnormalities included leukocytosis (40%), anemia (60%), thrombocytosis (60%), hyperbilirubinemia (16.7%), abnormal liver function (50%) and increased α-fetoprotein (80%). Based on radiological findings and gross specimens, the tumor presented as a solitary lesion or a multifocal space-occupying lesion. The tumor size ranged from 5.0 cm × 3.5 cm × 2.0 cm to 13.8 cm × 9.0 cm × 7.7 cm, and the 0.2-1.1 cm nodules were diffusely distributed within the multifocal tumor. Seven cases were surgically resected, three cases underwent biopsy and the two fetuses were aborted. Histologically, nine cases were classified as type I and three as type II, presenting aggressive morphologic features, immature vessels, active mitosis and necrosis. An inflammatory component, predominantly eosinophilic granulocytes, sometimes obscured the nature of the tumor. Ten patients are alive after a follow-up of 1-9 years. Based on immunohistochemistry, the endothelial cells in all cases were positive for CD31, CD34 and polyclonal factor VIII antigen, whereas the scattered hyperplasia bile ducts were positive for cytokeratin 8 and cytokeratin 18. CONCLUSION: The clinical manifestations of IHE are non-specific. There is no significant correlation between histological type and prognosis. The clinicopathologic features of IHE in Chinese patients may provide a clue to further evidence-based studies.