Mok Yingting, Agaimy Abbas, Wang Shi, Kuick Chik Hong, Chang Kenneth Tou-En, Petersson Fredrik
Department of Pathology, National University Health System, Singapore.
Institute of Pathology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Ann Diagn Pathol. 2018 Dec;37:20-24. doi: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2018.09.004. Epub 2018 Sep 11.
High grade malignant tumors with a poorly-/un-differentiated morphology pose significant diagnostic challenges. Increasingly, the use of adjunct immunohistochemical and molecular tests to characterize and delineate the histopathologic phenotype of these tumors has become necessary, particularly in head and neck tumors. Recently, several entities with a poorly-/un-differentiated light microscopic morphology have been defined based on specific immunohistochemical and genetic characteristics. We herein describe two cases of high-grade myoepithelial carcinoma, one occurring in the submandibular gland and the other occurring in the left nasal cavity, both showing undifferentiated histological and anaplastic cytomorphological features. This led to very broad differential diagnostic considerations and the diagnosis was only established after extensive immunohistochemical studies. Molecular testing for HPV was negative in both cases. Gene fusion analysis using a targeted sequencing assay (Archer® FusionPlex® system) did not identify fusions involving PLAG1, HMGA2, EWSR1 or ALK genes in either case. The submandibular tumor showed an aggressive clinical course, with diffuse pulmonary metastases at presentation, whilst the nasal cavity tumor showed only localized disease. Awareness of a subcategory of high-grade myoepithelial carcinomas with undifferentiated light microscopical features is of significant importance in antibody selection for immunohistochemical investigation of poorly-/undifferentiated malignant tumors in the head and neck region. This histological variant of myoepithelial carcinoma adds to the growing list of differential diagnoses in this diagnostically complex and multifaceted field.
具有低分化/未分化形态的高级别恶性肿瘤带来了重大的诊断挑战。越来越有必要使用辅助免疫组织化学和分子检测来表征和界定这些肿瘤的组织病理学表型,尤其是在头颈部肿瘤中。最近,基于特定的免疫组织化学和遗传学特征,已经定义了几种具有低分化/未分化光镜形态的实体。我们在此描述两例高级别肌上皮癌,一例发生于下颌下腺,另一例发生于左鼻腔,二者均表现出未分化的组织学特征和间变的细胞形态学特征。这导致了非常广泛的鉴别诊断考虑,并且仅在进行广泛的免疫组织化学研究后才得以确诊。两例病例的HPV分子检测均为阴性。使用靶向测序分析(Archer® FusionPlex® 系统)进行的基因融合分析在两例病例中均未发现涉及PLAG1、HMGA2、EWSR1或ALK基因的融合。下颌下腺肿瘤表现出侵袭性临床病程,就诊时已有弥漫性肺转移,而鼻腔肿瘤仅表现为局限性病变。认识到具有未分化光镜特征的高级别肌上皮癌亚类对于头颈部低分化/未分化恶性肿瘤免疫组织化学研究的抗体选择具有重要意义。这种肌上皮癌的组织学变异增加了这个诊断复杂且多方面领域中不断增长的鉴别诊断清单。